Israel will annex parts of Gaza if Hamas does not release the hostages
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 statement comes three days after the ceasefire in the Palestinian enclave ended, with the resumption of Israeli airstrikes and ground operations, which have already caused more than 500 deaths since early Tuesday morning.
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."
Top news on the conflict in the Gaza Strip
30 minutes ago:
Despair in Gaza "is worse this time" after renewed attacks, according to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
The population of Gaza is suffering a severe psychological impact as it returns to conflict after two months of relative peace during the ceasefire, said one of the UN refugee agency (UNRWA) officials in the Gaza Strip at a press conference.
"This time it's worse because people are already exhausted. These are people whose mental health was already deteriorating, and many of them were still on the brink of starvation," said Sam Rose, UNRWA's deputy director in the Strip, via video link from Gaza.
The UNRWA official warned that if the ceasefire is not restored, "there will be even greater loss of life and infrastructure and an increased risk of infectious diseases and trauma among the two million civilians living in Gaza, including one million children."
1 hour ago:
The Israeli defense minister will annex parts of Gaza if Hamas does not release all hostages.
"I have ordered (the army) to seize more territory in Gaza. The longer Hamas maintains its rejection, the more territory it will lose, which will be added to Israel," he declared, threatening the permanent occupation of the buffer zones within the Gaza Strip.
1 hour ago:
Less than half of the Red Crescent ambulances in Gaza are operational.
The situation is due to a fuel shortage in Gaza amid the blockade imposed by Israel, which includes the passage of all humanitarian aid. Of a total of 53 Palestinian Red Crescent emergency vehicles, 23 remain operational after aid supplies to the enclave, including fuel, were cut off in early March, Tommaso Della Longa of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies told reporters in Geneva.
1 hour ago:
Israeli Supreme Court freezes dismissal of Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar
1 hour ago:
Hamas says it is still discussing Witkoff's proposal for a truce in Gaza.
The Islamist group, which has controlled the Palestinian enclave since 2007, said on March 21 that it is still discussing U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff's proposal and other ideas, with the goal of reaching an agreement to release prisoners, end the war in Gaza, and achieve the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Palestinian enclave.
Last week, Witkoff presented a bridge plan to extend the ceasefire in Gaza until April, beyond Ramadan and Passover, allowing time to negotiate a permanent cessation of hostilities. However, among the demands is the release of the remaining 59 hostages held by Hamas, although several of them are believed to be dead.
2 hours ago:
More than 180 children have died since Israel resumed attacks on Tuesday.
Among the more than 500 Palestinians killed in Israeli attacks since Tuesday, March 18, at least 183 children and 94 women have been reported, according to Palestinian officials.
At least 91 dead in Israeli attacks in Gaza this Friday
At least 91 Palestinians were killed and many more wounded Friday amid Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip, according to medical officials in the enclave, who said a large proportion of the dead were women and children.
The timing of the new Israeli offensive strikes appears to have increased the proportion of women and children among the victims, as many were asleep when the missiles hit, either during the night or very early in the morning. Among those rescued alive from the rubble on Thursday, March 20, was a one-month-old baby, but his parents and brother died.
Israel resumed its offensive against the enclave on Tuesday, March 18, breaking a two-month pause in hostilities and killing more than 400 people, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, in what may have been the bloodiest day of the 18-month escalation of the conflict.
2 hours ago:
Israel intensifies attacks in Gaza to pressure Hamas to comply with its conditions
Defense Minister Israel Katz said Friday, March 21, that his military is exerting all possible pressure on Hamas to release all remaining hostages, evacuate Gazans to the south, and implement U.S. President Donald Trump's resettlement plan.
Israel has admitted to using air, sea, and land fire to pressure the Palestinian enclave after unilaterally dynamiting the truce on Tuesday, March 18. The truce, which began on January 19 and included three stages, only ended in the first. Under the terms of the agreement, the second phase of the truce called for the release of the remaining hostages held by Hamas in exchange for the withdrawal of Israeli troops and a lasting ceasefire. However, for weeks now, Israel and Hamas have changed their stance, demanding that the Islamist group release all hostages before moving on to the second phase. Hamas had already warned that it would not release the remaining hostages without guarantees of an end to the war.
