Israel has seized large parts of the Gaza Strip as “security zones” in a renewed takeover of Palestinian territory, as it seeks to “crush and clean” the territory of the last vestiges of Hamas.
In a move that led families of hostages to accuse the government of sacrificing their loved ones, the defence minister, Israel Katz, said that military operations in Gaza were “expanding” to “seize large areas that will be added to the security zones of the state of Israel for the protection of the fighting forces and the settlements”.
