Defense Minister Israel Katz on Friday threatened to annex parts of the Gaza Strip unless Hamas releases the 59 hostages still being held in the Palestinian enclave.
“If the Hamas terror organization continues to refuse to release the captives, I instructed the IDF to capture additional areas, evacuate the population and expand the security zone around Gaza for the protection of Israeli communities through a permanent hold of the area,” according to a statement by Katz’s office.
“As long as Hamas continues its refusal, it will lose more and more land to Israel,” he added.
Katz also said that the IDF will “intensify” its military campaign in Gaza “through the expansion of the ground maneuver until the hostages are released and Hamas is defeated.”
Israel will use “all military and civilian pressure” to achieve its goals, including the “implementation of U.S President Donald Trump’s voluntary migration plan for Gaza residents,” concluded Katz.
The warning comes after the IDF on Thursday began conducting ground operations to dismantle terror infrastructure in southern Gaza’s Rafah. Simultaneously, troops continued ground activity in the northern and central Strip, as the Israeli Air Force struck terrorists and their assets across the enclave.
Early on Tuesday morning, the IDF launched “extensive” strikes against Hamas terrorist targets in the Gaza Strip. The renewed Israeli military campaign has been officially named “Operation Strength and Sword.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the military was acting after Hamas terrorists rebuffed several proposals by U.S. Middle East envoy Steven Witkoff to extend the first phase of the Gaza truce through Ramadan and Passover.
Netanyahu said on Tuesday that Hamas has “already felt our strength” since the military returned to fighting, warning that future ceasefire negotiations with the terror group “will only take place under fire.”
On Wednesday, Katz warned Gazans of “total destruction.”
“If all the Israeli hostages are not released and Hamas is not removed from Gaza, Israel will act with forces you have never encountered before,” said the defense minister.
“Take the advice of the U.S. president. Return the hostages, remove Hamas and other options will be open to you— including leaving to other places in the world for those who wish.
“The alternative is total destruction and devastation,” vowed Katz.
