Israeli security minister orders seizure of additional areas in Gaza
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"Israel" announced new measures in Gaza, prompting condemnation from Hamas, while Qatari and Egyptian mediators are working to restore the ceasefire.
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Israeli Security Minister Israel Katz waits for the start of a meeting of EU foreign ministers at the European Council building in Brussels, on Monday, Jan. 22, 2024. (AP)
Israeli Security Minister Israel Katz announced that he ordered the seizure of more land in Gaza, three days after "Israel" shattered the ceasefire agreement in the strip and resumed its attacks on the Palestinian territory.
The security minister ordered Israeli troops to seize more land from Gaza by forcibly displacing Palestinian residents, in addition to the expansion of the security zones in the Gaza envelope area under the pretext of protecting settlers and Israeli soldiers.
Hamas responded to Katz's announcement, saying "The repeated Zionist threats to displace the Palestinian people from their land reveal the depth of the crisis facing the government of war criminal Netanyahu," emphasizing that "the Palestinian people will thwart all attempts of forced or voluntary displacement, and we say it clearly: No migration except to al-Quds."
In the same context, The Washington Post reported that Qatari and Egyptian mediators are pushing toward a resumption of the truce and a new ceasefire agreement, citing an Egyptian official.
This comes as the Israeli entity relaunches its war on Gaza, killing hundreds of civilians and injuring more than a thousand after it deliberately obstructed the ceasefire agreement and opted to go against its terms.
Katz explicitly threatens Gaza with genocide
“For Gazans, this is the latest warning ... The air force attacks on Hamas were only the first step. What comes next will be much harder, and you will have to pay the price in full. The evacuation of the population from the war zones will soon begin again. If all kidnapped Israelis are not released and Hamas is not forced out of the Gaza Strip, Israel will act with a force you have never seen before,” Katz said in a direct address to the people of Gaza on March 19.
The statement signals a further escalation in the Israeli occupation’s brutal onslaught in the Gaza Strip, which has already killed tens of thousands of Palestinians and displaced the overwhelming majority of the enclave’s residents.
Katz also urged the people of Gaza to follow the advice of former US President Donald Trump, claiming that compliance with Israeli demands could lead to alternative “options” for them, including the forced displacement from Gaza permanently.
“Return the kidnapped and get rid of Hamas, then other options will open up for you, including passage to other parts of the world. The alternative is total destruction and devastation,” he added.
His remarks reinforce growing concerns over "Israel’s" plans to depopulate Gaza through systematic forced displacement, a policy widely condemned as a violation of international law.
