GAZA, Apr 02 (Reuters/AFP): Israel announced a major expansion of military operations in Gaza on Wednesday, saying large areas of the enclave would be seized and added to its security zones, accompanied by large-scale evacuations of the population.
Israeli leaders have been encouraged by signs of protest in Gaza against Hamas, the militant group which has controlled the enclave since 2007, and the expanded operation appeared at least partly aimed at increasing civilian pressure on its leaders.
In a statement, Defence Minister Israel Katz said evacuations would take place from areas where there was fighting, while urging Gazans to eliminate Hamas and return Israeli hostages as the only way to end the war.
The Israeli military had already issued evacuation warnings to Gazans living around the southern city of Rafah and towards the city of Khan Yunis, telling them to move to the Al-Mawasi area on the shore, previously designated a humanitarian zone.
Israel's Army Radio said the 36th division, sent to the Southern Command area last month to prepare for operations in Gaza, would take part in the operation. Katz's statement did not make clear how much land Israel intended to seize.
Israeli forces have already set up a significant buffer zone within Gaza, expanding an area that existed around the edges of the enclave before the war and adding a large security area in the so-called Netzarim corridor through the middle of Gaza.
At the same time, Israeli leaders have said they plan to facilitate voluntary departure of Palestinians from the enclave, after US President Donald Trump called for it to be permanently evacuated and redeveloped as a coastal resort under US control.
Hunger returns to Gaza as Israeli
blockade forces bakeries shut
At an industrial bakery in war-ravaged Gaza City, a conveyor belt that once churned out thousands of pitta breads every day has come to a standstill.
The Families Bakery is one of about two dozen supported by the World Food Programme (WFP) that have halted production in recent days due to flour and fuel shortages resulting from an Israeli blockade.
"All 25 WFP-supported bakeries in Gaza have shut down due to lack of fuel and flour," the UN agency said in a statement on Tuesday, adding that it would "distribute its last food parcels in the next two days".
Abed al-Ajrami, chairman of the Bakery Owners Association in Gaza and owner of the Families Bakery, told AFP that the WFP was the only sponsor of Gaza bakeries and provided them with "all their needs".
"The repercussions from the closure of the bakeries will be very hard on citizens because they have no alternative to resort to," he told AFP.
