Israel Expands the War in Gaza and Plans for Population Displacement

3rd April 2025

2 minutes read

Israel Expands the War in Gaza and Plans for Population Displacement

An expansion of the military operation in Gaza, control over vast territories, and a large-scale evacuation of the population.

These headlines summarize a new day in Israel’s war agenda against the Gaza Strip.

Today, Wednesday, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz announced a significant expansion of the military operation in Gaza.

Katz stated that there are plans to take control of large areas of the territory and integrate them into Israeli security zones.

In a statement, the Israeli minister added that a large-scale evacuation of residents from combat zones would take place, calling on the people of Gaza to “eliminate Hamas and free the hostages,” asserting that “this is the only way to end the war.”

However, he did not specify the extent of the land that his country intends to control.

This announcement comes after Katz warned last week that the Israeli army would “act with full force” in additional parts of the Gaza Strip.

Buffer Zones

Israel had already created a large buffer zone inside Gaza, expanding an existing perimeter on the outskirts of the territory before the war while adding a large security area in what is called the Netzarim corridor, separating northern and central Gaza from the south of the territory.

At the same time, Israeli leaders announced plans to facilitate the voluntary departure of Palestinians from the territory after former U.S. President Donald Trump called for its complete evacuation and redevelopment into a coastal resort under U.S. control.

Israel resumed its intensive bombing of Gaza on March 18 before launching a new ground offensive, thus ending a nearly two-month ceasefire in the war against Hamas after negotiations over its next phases reached an impasse.

Since the resumption of fighting, Gaza’s Ministry of Health has reported that at least 1,042 people have been killed in Israeli attacks.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that military pressure was the best way to recover the remaining 59 hostages.

The war broke out following Hamas‘s attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which resulted in 1,218 deaths, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.

In Gaza, the Israeli offensive has killed more than fifty thousand people.