THE ISRAELI ARMY announced it had launched a new ground offensive east of Gaza City on Friday to expand the security zone it has established inside the Palestinian territory.

“Over the past few hours… troops have begun conducting ground activity in the area of Shejaiya in northern Gaza, in order to expand the security zone,” the military said in a statement.

“The troops eliminated numerous terrorists and dismantled Hamas terrorist infrastructure, including a command and control centre that served Hamas terrorists to plan and execute terror attacks,” the statement added.

“During and prior to the activity… troops are allowing the evacuation of civilians from the combat zone via organized routes for their safety.”

Defence Minister Israel Katz had said on Wednesday that Israel would bolster its military presence inside the Gaza Strip to “destroy and clear the area of terrorists and terrorist infrastructure”.

The operation would “seize large areas that will be incorporated into Israeli security zones”, he said, without specifying how much territory.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the army was dividing Gaza and “seizing territory” to force Hamas to free the remaining Israeli hostages seized in the militant group’s October 2023 attack on Israel.