Israel said on Saturday its military had completed the takeover of a new corridor in southern Gaza, advancing its efforts to seize large parts of the war-battered Palestinian territory.
It also announced a sweeping evacuation order for tens of thousands of residents of Khan Yunis and surrounding areas in southern Gaza as it launched strikes after projectiles were fired from there.
The seizure of the "Morag axis" came as a Hamas official told AFP the group expected "real progress" towards a ceasefire deal to end the Gaza war, ahead of talks with Egyptian mediators later Saturday.
"The IDF (military) has now completed its takeover of the Morag axis, which crosses Gaza between Rafah and Khan Yunis, turning the entire area between the Philadelphi Route (along the border with Egypt) and Morag into part of the Israeli security zone," Defence Minister Israel Katz said, addressing Gaza residents.
"Soon, IDF operations will intensify and expand to other areas throughout most of Gaza, and you will need to evacuate the combat zones.
"Now is the time to rise up, remove Hamas, and release all the Israeli hostages -- this is the only way to end the war." Katz said the military was also taking over several areas in northern Gaza and the "security zone is being expanded, including in the Netzarim Corridor".
Since a ceasefire collapsed in mid-March, Israel's renewed offensive has displaced hundreds of thousands of people as the military seizes large areas of Gaza. Israeli officials including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have repeatedly said the ongoing assault aims to pressure Hamas into freeing the remaining 58 hostages it holds.
Hamas said the offensive not only "kills defenceless civilians but also makes the fate of the occupation's prisoners (hostages) uncertain".
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