By James Mackenzie and Nidal Al-Mughrabi
Israel announced a major expansion of military operations in Gaza on Wednesday, saying large areas of the enclave would be seized and added to its security zones, accompanied by large-scale evacuations of the population.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said troops were seizing an area he called the Morag Axis, a reference to a former Israeli settlement once located between the cities of Rafah and Khan Younis in the south of the Gaza Strip, some 3-4 kilometres from the southern border.
“Because we are now dividing the Strip and we are increasing pressure step by step so they will give us our hostages,” he said in a video message.
He said the move, which would cut off Rafah from Khan Younis, would give Israel control of a second axis in southern Gaza in addition to the so-called “Philadelphi Corridor”, running along the border with Egypt, which Israel sees as a
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