Israel defence minister says Gaza offensive expands, will seize 'large areas'
Israel defence minister says Gaza offensive expands, will seize 'large areas' by AFP Staff Writers Jerusalem (AFP) April 2, 2025 Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz announced Wednesday a major expansion of a military operation in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, saying the army would seize "large areas" of the Palestinian territory. The defence chief said in a statement that Israel would expand its presence in Gaza to "destroy and clear the area of terrorists and terrorist infrastructure". The expanded operation would "seize large areas that will be incorporated into Israeli security zones", he said, without saying how much territory Israel would take. The announcement comes after he warned last week the military would soon "operate with full force" in additional parts of Hamas-run Gaza. Israel restarted intense bombing of Gaza on March 18 and then launched a new ground offensive, ending a nearly two-month ceasefire in the war with Hamas. The war was sparked by Hamas's October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures. Israel's retaliatory military campaign has killed at least 50,357 people in Gaza, the majority of them civilians, according to the territory's health ministry. Related Links Space War News The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.