Defense Minister Israel Katz warned that the Jewish state will annex areas of the Gaza Strip if the Islamic terrorist group Hamas refuses to release the hostages it still holds captive in the coastal enclave.
Katz noted that he has ordered the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to seize additional areas of the Gaza Strip and to issue evacuation orders to Palestinian civilians.
"If the Hamas terrorist organization continues to refuse to release the hostages, I have instructed the Israel Defense Forces to capture additional areas, evacuate the population, and expand the security zone around Gaza to protect Israeli communities and IDF soldiers, through continued Israeli maintenance of the zone," the defense minister stressed.
"The longer Hamas maintains its rejection, the more territory it will lose, which will be added to Israel," Katz said in a statement released by the Ministry.
Katz added that Israel will "intensify" its military campaign against Hamas "by expanding ground maneuvers until the hostages are freed and Hamas is defeated."
The defense minister said Israel will use all civilian and military means to pressure Hamas to release the 59 hostages still held in the Strip, "including the evacuation of the Gaza population to the south and the implementation of US President Donald Trump's voluntary emigration plan for residents of the coastal enclave."
So far, the Israel Defense Forces have ordered the evacuation of the eastern neighborhoods of the city of Khan Yunis in southern Gaza, as well as the neighboring town of Beni Suheila. They have also ordered the evacuation of Beit Lahia in the north, where troops have launched a ground operation.
In addition, Israeli troops partially deployed along the Netzarim corridor, which the IDF used to divide northern and southern Gaza during the war, and called on the northern population to evacuate southward via the Rashid Highway, which runs parallel to the coast.
Katz reiterated in the statement that Israel is still committed to White House Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff's proposal for the "release of all hostages, both living and dead, in advance and in two stages with a ceasefire in between."
The proposal involves an extension of the first phase of the ceasefire by approximately 50 days, with half of the hostages to be released on the first day and the other half on the last.
Agencies contributed to this Aurora article