Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz said on Sunday that Gaza “will become smaller and more isolated.” He announced the annexation of 10% of the territory of the Strip to the “Israeli security zones,” referring to the “buffer zone” established by the Israeli military on the Gaza border. He added that “hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have already been evacuated.”
In a statement published by Israeli media, Katz claimed that “the main goal is to increase pressure on Hamas to conclude a prisoner exchange deal,” explaining that “the army’s operations will continue to escalate as long as the movement maintains its position.”
Israeli media reports indicate that the “buffer zone” established by the Israeli military in southern Gaza will extend from the Egyptian border to the outskirts of Khan Yunis, a distance of more than five kilometers, and will include the entire city of Rafah within it, which constitutes approximately 20% of the Gaza Strip’s area.
