(Reuters) – Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Friday the army was intensifying strikes from the air, land and sea in Gaza to pressure Hamas into freeing remaining hostages, and would also evacuate civilians to the south of the enclave.
After two months of relative calm, Gazans were again fleeing for their lives after Israel effectively abandoned a ceasefire, launching a new all-out air and ground campaign against Gaza’s dominant Palestinian militant group Hamas.
Katz said the more Hamas continued to refuse to release the remaining Israeli hostages, the more territory it would lose to Israel.
He said the military would step up strikes from the air, sea and land and expand ground operations until the hostages are released and Hamas was finally defeated.
With talks having failed to bridge differences over terms to extend the ceasefire, the Israeli military resumed assaults on Gaza with a massive bombing campaign on Tuesday before sending in troops the day after.
Tuesday’s first day of resumed airstrikes killed more than 400 Palestinians, one of the deadliest days of the 17-month-old war, with scant let-up since then.
(Reporting by Jana Choukeir; editing by Mark Heinrich)
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