Israeli defense minister threatens to annex part of Gaza

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on March 21 that he ordered the military to "seize more ground" in Gaza, warning of partial annexation if Hamas does not release hostages held in the Palestinian territory.

“I have instructed the IDF [Israeli Defense Forces] to seize additional areas in Gaza, evacuate the population and expand security zones around Gaza to protect Israeli communities and IDF soldiers,” Katz said in a statement.

“The more Hamas persists in its refusal to release the hostages, the more territory it will lose, which will be annexed to Israel.”

"If the hostages are not released, Israel will continue to take more and more territory in the strip for permanent control," Katz stated.

He added that Israel will use “all military and civilian pressure, including evacuation of the Gaza population south and implementing U.S. President Trump’s voluntary migration plan for Gaza residents.”

According to a March 21 report by Hezbollah-affiliated Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said that his country was ready to temporarily host half 1 million Gazans who would be evacuated from the Gaza Strip.

The comment reportedly came during a conference held in Riyadh on the situation in the Middle East, in which the Egyptian leader was present, among other attendees.

Meanwhile, the death toll in the Palestinian territory neared 50,00 on March 21.

Israel resumed the war with a surprise bombardment early on March 18 that killed hundreds of Palestinians, ending the ceasefire that took effect in January and vowing even more devastation if Hamas doesn't release its remaining hostages and leave the territory.

Israel's renewed military offensive in Gaza threatens to be even deadlier and more destructive than the last, as it pursues wider aims with far fewer constraints.

The military expanded ground operations across Gaza, after it reported missiles intercepted from Yemen and Hamas militants said they fired rockets towards Tel Aviv.

The rocket fire from Hamas was its first military response to the growing civilian death toll from Israel's resumption of aerial bombardment and ground operations in Gaza this week.

Late on March 20, the military said troops had begun "conducting ground activity" in the Shabura area of Rafah, Gaza's southernmost city near the Egyptian border.

"As part of the activity, the troops dismantled... terrorist infrastructure," the military said in a statement, adding that "troops are continuing ground activity in northern and central Gaza."

Israel earlier said it had closed off the territory's main north-south route as part of expanding ground operations.