Israel’s military operation in the Gaza Strip is expanding to seize “large areas”, the defence minister said on Wednesday. Israel’s offensive in the Palestinian territory was “expanding to crush and clean the area” of militants and “seizing large areas that will be added to the security zones of Israel”, Defence Minister Israel Katz said.

The Israeli government has long maintained a buffer zone just inside Gaza along its security fence and has greatly expanded since the war began in 2023. Israel says the buffer zone is needed for its security, while Palestinians view it as a land grab that further shrinks the narrow coastal territory, home to around 2 million people.