Israel has announced it will establish a new security corridor in Gaza that will result in the city of Rafah being cut off from the rest of Gaza.

In a major expansion of its military operation, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) will seize the Morag Axis, a reference to a former Israeli settlement located between Rafah and Khan Younis in the south of Gaza, Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, said on Wednesday.

“We are now dividing the Strip and we are increasing pressure step by step so they will give us our hostages,” he said.

Israel resumed its bombing of Gaza on March 18 after two months of peace when its ceasefire deal with Hamas fell apart.

The Palestinian terror group on Wednesday said it had rejected Israel’s latest proposal for a renewed ceasefire in Gaza, accusing Mr Netanyahu of trying to “derail any agreement”.

Israel has insisted that military pressure is the only way to force Hamas to release the remaining 60 hostages.

The first phase of the truce, which began on January 19, led to the return of 33 Israeli hostages, eight of whom were dead, in exchange for the release of approximately 1,800 Palestinian detainees.