Israel’s defense minister announced Friday he ordered ground troops to seize more territory in Gaza and threatened to take permanent control of the Palestinian enclave unless Hamas releases all remaining hostages, both dead and alive.
“If the terrorist organization Hamas continues to refuse to release the hostages, I have instructed the IDF to seize additional territories, while evacuating the population, and to expand the security zones around Gaza for the benefit of protecting Israeli communities and IDF soldiers, through permanent Israeli control of the territory,” Israel Katz said in a statement.
“As Hamas continues its refusal, it will lose more and more territory that will be annexed to Israel.”
The warning comes days after Israel resumed the war with Hamas in Gaza following the Islamic terrorist group’s refusal to free 59 hostages and rejection of a U.S. proposal that would have extended the cease-fire.
The first phase of the six-week cease-fire concluded at the beginning of the month, after which negotiations on the next phase made no progress because Israel and Hamas couldn’t come to an agreement.
President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff offered a “bridge” proposal that would have required Hamas to release some of its nearly five dozen hostages to start. In exchange, the cease-fire in Gaza would have been extended and negotiations for a lasting truce would have been underway.
While Israel accepted the terms of the proposal, Hamas rejected it late last week in part because the Israeli military continued blocking the passage of humanitarian aid to Gaza. The terrorist group also demanded the return of Palestinian prisoners.
Katz reaffirmed Israel’s adherence to Witkoff’s proposal on Friday but made clear that Israel would further “intensify” its military operation in Gaza until the release of the hostages is secured and Hamas is eradicated.
Earlier this week, the Israel Defense Forces resumed precision airstrikes that targeted Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Among the targets eliminated in the past three days were the head of the Hamas government in Gaza and at least eight other terrorist leaders. The IDF also began a limited ground incursion.
In return, Hamas fired rockets toward Tel Aviv and the larger central Israel region for the first time since the truce collapsed.
The U.S. remains committed to backing Israel’s military objectives. President Trump repeatedly warned Hamas would pay a heavy price if it didn’t release the remaining captives.
“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 told reporters on Thursday. “Unfortunately, Hamas chose to play games in the media with lives.”
Hamas announced last that week that it would release 21-year-old Israeli-American Edan Alexander and four deceased dual citizens if certain conditions were met, but refused to specify what those conditions were. Israel rejected the offer, accusing Hamas of “manipulation and psychological warfare.”
“This situation is completely the fault of Hamas when they launched that brutal attack on Israel on October 7,” Leavitt said. “The president has made it very clear that he wants all of those hostages to come home.”