Israel has widened its buffer zone within the Gaza Strip as part of an escalating military campaign aimed at pressuring Hamas to release hostages, Defense Minister Israel Katz announced on Sunday. The operation, which includes extensive airstrikes and ground incursions, seeks to dismantle Hamas infrastructure while intensifying efforts to secure a hostage deal.
One Israeli official told local media that at present the IDF has direct control over 40% of the Gaza Strip.
These were the main developments in Gaza over the weekend and the Passover holiday:
- Expanded buffer zone and Evacuations: Katz reported that “hundreds of thousands” of Palestinian residents have evacuated to other parts of Gaza, with up to 40% of the territory now designated as Israeli security areas.
- Military objective: Katz emphasized that the primary goal is to force Hamas back to the negotiating table for a hostage release deal. He warned that IDF operations would intensify if Hamas continues to reject an agreement acceptable to Israel.
- Widespread strikes: Over the weekend, the IDF conducted strikes on more than 90 Hamas targets across Gaza, hitting command centers, rocket launch sites, weapons storage facilities, and armed cells.
- Ground operations in Rafah: The IDF established the “Morag Corridor” separating Rafah from the rest of the Gaza Strip. In operations there, the army killed several terrorists, destroyed tunnel shafts, and uncovered weapons caches. In Rafah’s Tel al-Sultan and al-Shaboura neighborhoods, troops discovered underground passageways used by Hamas for transporting fighters and supplies.
- Northern Gaza tunnel destruction: The IDF’s elite Yahalom unit demolished a 1.2-kilometer Hamas tunnel buried 20 meters underground in northern Gaza. Nearby, soldiers found a weapons depot containing explosives, anti-tank systems, and other arms.
- Drone strike neutralizes threat: A drone identified terrorists planting an explosive device near Israeli forces in northern Gaza, leading to a precision airstrike that eliminated the threat.
- Targeted strikes on command centers: On Sunday, Israeli aircraft hit a Hamas command center in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza, used to coordinate attacks. Earlier, the IDF struck a Hamas facility operating within Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City, with precautions taken to minimize civilian harm, including advance warnings to residents.
- Hamas’s use of civilian infrastructure: The IDF accused Hamas of systematically violating international law by exploiting civilian infrastructure, such as hospitals, and using the population as human shields.
- Rocket intercepted: At 3:58 p.m. on Sunday, a rocket fired from Gaza was intercepted over Kibbutz Re’im in southern Israel, with no injuries reported.
- Passover message from IDF chief: As Israel began Passover, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir held a seder with the Nahal Reconnaissance Battalion at the Mevo Dotan post in Samaria. Addressing the battalion, which has lost 27 soldiers since Oct. 7, Zamir underscored the mission to free hostages and dismantle Hamas, stating, “Our freedom is bought with blood. This is our duty—freedom.”
The intensified operations come amid heightened tensions, with Israel marking Passover while maintaining its focus on securing the release of hostages and neutralizing Hamas’s capabilities. The IDF remains on high alert, with further actions expected if negotiations falter.
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