TEL AVIV, March 19. /TASS/. The Palestinians must return all Israeli hostages and expel the radical Hamas movement from the Gaza Strip, otherwise Israel will completely destroy the enclave, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said.
According to him, if the hostages are not released and Hamas is not removed from Gaza, "Israel will operate with strength you have not yet seen."
"Gaza residents, this is a final warning. Take the US president’s advice. Return the hostages and remove Hamas, and other options will open for you, including leaving for other places in the world for those who want to," the Israeli Defense Ministry quoted the defense official as saying. "The alternative is absolute destruction," Katz emphasized.
"The evacuation of the population from combat zones will soon begin again," he continued. "The Air Force strikes against Hamas terrorists were just the first step. It will become much more difficult and you will pay the full price," Katz warned.
According to the defense minister, Hamas leaders - former movement leader Yahya Sinwar, who was killed in battle with the Israeli servicemen in October 2024, and his brother Mohammed Sinwar, now leading Hamas in the Gaza Strip - fully responsible for what is happening. "The first Sinwar destroyed Gaza and the second Sinwar will completely destroy it," he opined.
Earlier, the Israeli military reported that it had resumed ground operations in the Gaza Strip and regained control of the Netzarim corridor in the central part of the enclave.
"Over the past 24 hours, the Israel Defense Forces have launched targeted ground operations in the central part of the Gaza Strip and in its south in order to expand the security zone and create a partial buffer in the north and south of the strip. As part of this operation, [Israeli] forces regained control of areas up to the central part of the Netzarim corridor," the statement said.
On March 18, the Israeli army launched massive attacks on the enclave. The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu explained that the radical Palestinian movement Hamas had rejected the proposals put forward at the talks by the mediators and the special envoy of US President Steven Witkoff, saying that the goal of the operation in Gaza was the release of all hostages. The radicals blamed Israel and the United States for the resumption of hostilities.