Israel Reveals a Strategy Change: Hold 'Large Areas' of Gaza

Hamas has said the release of its remaining Israeli hostages won't happen until Israel fully withdraws from Gaza. Israel looks to be moving in the other direction. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz on Wednesday announced it would expand its military offensive "to crush and clean the area of terrorists and terrorist infrastructure" and carry out the "seizure of large areas to be added to Israel's security zones" in Gaza. Those zones include areas along the Egypt and Israel borders; the Guardian cites the Israeli rights group Gisha as saying Israel currently holds roughly 24 square miles, or about 17%, of Gaza. More:

• The New York Times calls this an apparent "shift from earlier tactics," as the prior 15 months have largely seen Israeli troops sweep into an area but then exit, "leaving behind vast destruction but allowing Palestinian militants to regroup in the rubble." Katz's comments suggest Israel plans to retain any newly captured territory, though he did not specify how much territory they hoped to seize or how long they intended to hold it for.
• He also didn't detail which areas Israel wants to capture, but the Washington Post notes the Israeli military on Monday ordered the southern city of Rafah and some surrounding areas to fully evacuate.

• The Post reports that the Hostage Families Forum, which represents the majority of the hostages' families, condemned the move: "Did you decide that we are sacrificing hostages for capturing land? Instead of getting the hostages out in a deal and ending the war, Israel's government is sending more soldiers to Gaza to fight in the same places that they already fought over and over again." The AP reports Hamas still holds 59 captives; 24 are thought to still be alive.
• Katz's announcement comes one day after the UN's World Food Program said it was out of fuel and flour due to Israel's blockade on aid and would shutter its bakeries in the Gaza Strip. It says its supply of food parcels would be exhausted by Thursday, and that its hot meal ingredients would be used up in two weeks. Israel has maintained the amount of aid that entered during the six-week ceasefire should be more than adequate for some time; a UN rep called that thinking "ridiculous," per the AP.

(More Israel-Hamas war stories.)