[1andrew1]

Bad news if you're a hostage or Gazan.

Israeli forces will seize “large areas” of Gaza and turn them into buffer zones, Israel’s defence minister said on Wednesday, as the military expanded its renewed offensive in the Palestinian enclave.

The announcement marks the latest intensification of Israeli operations in Gaza since Israel broke a two-month ceasefire with Hamas last month and cut off supplies of food, fuel, humanitarian aid and medicine to the 2.2mn people living in the shattered territory.

Israel has already turned large tracts of land along Gaza’s border with the country into buffer zones, as well as creating a similar area in the Netzarim Corridor, which runs through the centre of the strip, separating its north and south.

In his statement on Wednesday, defence minister Israel Katz gave no details of where or how large the new land seizures would be. But he said the renewed fighting would be accompanied by a “large-scale” evacuation of Gaza’s population from combat areas.

He also repeated his previous calls for Palestinians in Gaza to turn against militant group Hamas and release Israeli hostages still being held there, saying this was the “only way to end the war”.

The announcement was met with dismay by relatives of the hostages, with the organisation representing them issuing a statement accusing Katz of “sacrificing the hostages for seizing territory”.

“Instead of freeing the hostages through a deal and ending the war, the Israeli government is sending more troops into Gaza, to fight in the same places where they have already fought time and time again,” said the Hostages and Missing Families Forum.

https://www.ft.com/content/ec189f74-...f-663b6f56f81b