Israeli army launches ‘pinpoint’ ground offensive to expand Gaza buffer zone

JERUSALEM/ISTANBUL

The Israeli army said Wednesday that it launched a “pinpoint” ground operation to expand a buffer zone between northern Gaza and the south.

"Over the past 24 hours, IDF (army) forces have launched a pinpoint, targeted ground operation in the central and southern Gaza Strip to expand the buffer zone between the northern and southern Gaza Strip,” army spokesman Avichay Adraee said via Telegram.

"During the operation, the forces expanded their renewed control over the central Netzarim axis,” which separates northern Gaza from the south, he added.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said the situation “will be significantly worse” for the Palestinians in Gaza.

"Citizens of Gaza, this is your final warning," he said in a televised speech. “The rest will be significantly worse and you will pay the full price.”

At least 436 people were killed and over 670 others injured in renewed Israeli airstrikes in Gaza since Tuesday, shattering a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement that took hold in January.

Israel has turned Gaza into the world’s largest open-air prison, besieging it for 18 years. Now, the territory’s entire 2.4 million population is homeless and the enclave is reduced to rubble.

Nearly 50,000 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, and over 112,000 others injured in a brutal Israeli military campaign in Gaza since October 2023.

In November 2024, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.