The IDF said Wednesday it had launched “pinpoint” ground operations in the central and southern Gaza Strip, as Defense Minister Israel Katz warned that Hamas’s continued rule in the enclave would lead to its “total destruction and ruin.”
The army said its operations were aimed at expanding the security zone near the border and creating a partial buffer between northern and southern Gaza. Troops of the 252nd Division entered the Netzarim Corridor area, a route that splits Gaza into north and south, capturing around half of it, up to the Salah a-Din road.
At the same time, the IDF said it deployed the Golani Brigade to the southern part of the Gaza border, readying it for action in the Strip.
Katz said Israel would soon issue evacuation orders for combat zones in the Strip.
“Gaza residents, this is a final warning. The first Sinwar ruined Gaza and the second Sinwar will completely obliterate it,” the defense minister said, referring to the slain leader of the terror group, Yahya Sinwar, and to his brother, Mohammed Sinwar, a senior Hamas military commander who is thought to have succeeded him.
“The Air Force strikes against Hamas terrorists were just the first step. Things will become much more difficult, and you will pay the full price,” he said.
Katz said that if the hostages are not released and Hamas is not removed from Gaza, “Israel will operate with strength you have not yet seen.”
“Take the US president’s advice. Return the hostages and remove Hamas, and other options will open up for you, including leaving for other places in the world for those who desire,” he said.
“The alternative is total destruction and ruin,” Katz added.
The Israel Defense Forces and Shin Bet security agency said Tuesday that Israel’s strikes have targeted cells of terror leaders and operatives, rocket-launching positions, weapons, and other Hamas and Islamic Jihad terror infrastructure.
The Hamas-run health ministry has said over 400 people have been killed since Israel renewed its offensive, including women and children. Its unverified figures do not differentiate between civilians and combatants.
Israel renewed its offensive overnight Monday-Tuesday, citing Hamas’s “repeated refusal” to free Israeli hostages.
The sides have been unable to agree on the continuation of the ceasefire, with Israel insisting on extending the first phase — with more hostage releases in return for the release of Palestinian prisoners and further calm — while the terror group has insisted on moving to the second phase, which envisioned Israel fully withdrawing from Gaza and agreeing to permanently end the war in exchange for the release of the remaining living hostages.
Netanyahu said Tuesday night that from now on, negotiations on a continued ceasefire would only be conducted “under fire.”
Terror groups in the Gaza Strip are still holding 59 hostages, including 58 of the 251 abducted by Hamas-led terrorists on October 7, 2023. They include the bodies of at least 35 confirmed dead by the IDF.
Additionally, the IDF and Shin Bet announced that two more top Hamas officials were killed in airstrikes in the Gaza Strip over the past day.
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