Israeli forces resume land operations in Gaza, says IDF

London – Israel has resumed “land operations focused” in the “center of the Gaza Strip” in the last 24 hours, according to Israel’s defense forces.

The Israeli forces have also taken control and “re -expired their control to the center of the Netzarim corridor”, the line that separates the north of Gaza from the South, said a spokesman for the FDI.

As part of the terms of the high fire agreement that entered into force on January 19, the Israeli forces agreed to remove troops in the field in Gaza to a cushioning zone that carved along the perimeter of Gaza, and the troops remained in the Philadelphous corridor, the 8 mile border between Gaza and Egypt.

During Phase one of the Alto El Fuego agreement, Israel retired completely from the Netzarim corridor.

The Israeli defense minister, Israel Katz, warned Gaza residents that “the evacuation of the population of the battle areas” in Gaza “will begin again soon”, in a video message in Hebrew on Wednesday.

Katz encouraged Gaza’s residents to go to “other parts of the world for those who wish.”

“Take the advice of the president of the United States. Return to the hostages and eliminate Hamas, and other options will open for you, even go to other parts of the world for those who wish,” Katz said.

Last month, President Donald Trump requested the forced displacement of the Palestinians in Gaza, generating broad international criticism and accusations of allies and the United Nations. Since then he has said that Palestinians should want to leave voluntarily due to destruction.

Gaza residents currently cannot leave on their own because the border crossing to Egypt is closed.

Israel’s current plan is to make Gaza cannot be lived, restless to the so -called “humanitarian areas”, concentrated to the Palestinians in those bubbles or islands and, from there, offer a voluntary transfer of Gaza, retired Brig. General Amir Avivi, a security hawk that continues to advise the Military and Defense Ministry, told ABC News.

Avivi emphasized the game would be voluntary. They would be loaded by buses and sent through the crossing of Kerem Shalom, either to the port of Ashdod or an airport near Eilat.

Before resuming land operations, an Israeli official told ABC News that his renewed strike campaign in the Gaza Strip would continue until all the remaining hostages are published.

Palestinian health officials said that at least 436 people have been killed, including more than 130 children, according to UNICEF figures, since Israel renewed their bombing of the coastal territory during the night on Tuesday, marking the collapse of a high fire with Hamas that began in January. Another 678 people have been injured, Palestinian officials said.

On Tuesday, an Israeli official told ABC News of Hamas: “They were beaten last night and will continue to be hammered until we take out the hostages.”

The official described the renewed attacks of Israel’s defense forces against Hamas in Gaza as a “different form of negotiation”, and said that Israel “had not closed the door” to the conversations resuming through mediators if Hamas is willing to accept more exchanges of hostage prisoners.

An Israeli official told ABC News on Tuesday that the offensive will continue “the time that is necessary” and “will expand beyond air attacks.”

The Israeli minister of the extreme right, Ben Gvir, and his party have joined the Netanyahu coalition in the Knéset, after leaving when the high fire entered into force earlier this year.

Gvir has extreme opinions and wants Netanyahu to go further in Gaza. There is a vote on Israel’s budget at the end of March.

If the Netanyahu coalition does not pass that budget, its government falls, according to Israeli law.

Wednesday brought new strikes in Gaza. The IDF said he attacked what he called “a military site of Hamas in northern Gaza, where preparations were being made to shoot projectiles in the Israeli territory.”

The Israeli Navy “hit several ships in the coastal area of ​​the Gaza Strip”, which according to the IDF were used by Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

The Ministry of Health in Gaza said on Wednesday that a foreign employee who worked for the United Nations was killed by an Israeli strike in the center of Gaza, and five others suffered “serious” injuries. The injured were taken to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital, the ministry said.

The FDI denied participation. “Unlike the reports, the IDF did not achieve a UN complex in Deir El Balah,” he said in a statement.

Israel’s renewed campaign in Gaza marked the end of almost two months of relative tranquility in the region, which has been devastated by intense fighting since October 2023. El Alto El Fuego saw 33 Israeli hostages released from Gaza in exchange for the release of almost 1,800 Palestinian prisoners of Israeli prisoners.

It is believed that fifty -nine hostages remain in Gaza, 24 of which it is presumed to be alive. Edan Alexander is the last American-Israeli hostage that is still believed to be alive.

Several members of Hamas’ administrative and civil wings were killed in renewed strikes. They included the Deputy Minister of the Interior, General General Mahmoud Abu Tuffah and the Vice Minister of Justice Omar Al-Hatta.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that his country would act against Hamas “with an increasing intensity.”

“From now on, negotiations will only take place under fire,” he said in a statement. “Hamas has already felt the presence of our strength in the last 24 hours and I want to assure him: this is just the beginning.”

“The military attack against Hamas and the release of our hostages are not contradictory objectives: they are objectives that are intertwined,” said Netanyahu.

The renewed offensive caused important protests in Israel, even the families of people who are still retained as hostages in Gaza.

“The greatest fear of families, the kidnapped and citizens of Israel have come true,” said the forum of hostage families in a statement issued on Tuesday. “The Israeli government has chosen to renounce the kidnapped.”

The Guy Davies of ABC News, Jordana Miller, Diaa Ostaz, Samy Zyara, Dana Savir and Victoria Beaule contributed to this report.