Israel ordered its troops to permanently seize parts of the Gaza Strip — to be “annexed to Israel” — unless Hamas hands over the remaining hostages, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Friday.
The statement came after Israel this week broke the two-month ceasefire with Hamas, with the resumption of airstrikes and ground operations in Gaza killing nearly 600 people.
The government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to intensify those operations until the militant group, which nominally controlled Gaza before this round of conflict, returns the 59 dead and living hostages who it continues to hold captive.
“I have instructed the IDF to seize additional areas in Gaza, while evacuating the population, and to expand the security zones around Gaza for the protection of Israeli communities and IDF soldiers,” Katz said in a statement. “The more Hamas persists in its refusal to release the hostages, the more territory it will lose, which will be annexed to Israel.”
Katz also threatened the use of “all military and civilian pressure tools including the evacuation of Gaza’s population southward and the implementation of voluntary relocation plans for Gaza residents,” while describing the new more expansive phase of Israel’s military offensive in the enclave.
He added that this would be done “through permanent Israeli control of the territory.”
Hamas said Friday that it “remains at the heart of the negotiations,” and was engaging with mediators including “discussing the Witkoff proposal and the various ideas on the table.”
The group said in a statement that its aim is “achieving a prisoner exchange deal that secures the release of prisoners, ends the war, and achieves withdrawal.”
Since signing the ceasefire in January, Netanyahu has faced the twin pressures of hostage families urging him to facilitate their return, and his hard-right coalition members threatening to collapse his government unless he restarts the war. On Tuesday, his military opted for the latter, launching strikes into Gaza that he and the White House blamed on Hamas’ refusal to release more hostages.
But Netanyahu’s accusations do not reflect the structure of the deal.
In the first phase of the truce, Israel exchanged 1,800 Palestinian prisoners and detainees for the return of 25 living hostages and the bodies of eight more of the roughly 250 who were taken captive during the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks, in which some 1,200 people were killed, according to Israel.
Nearly 49,000 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched its offensive in the enclave, according to local health officials, whose figures the World Health Organization has said in the past are reputable.
The first phase of the ceasefire ended March 1 and was meant to precede a second phase 16 days later involving the exchange of all remaining hostages and the establishment of a permanent ceasefire.
That never happened, with Netanyahu agreeing to a proposal tabled by White House envoy Steven Witkoff to extend the ceasefire by 50 days in order to discuss phase two. This was immediately rejected by Hamas, but Katz said Friday that Israel was still standing by it.
The White House has made it clear it stands with Israel’s decision but has yet to respond to NBC News’ request for comment on Katz’s remarks Friday.
“The president made it very clear to Hamas that if they did not release all of the hostages there would be all hell to pay,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
