Deadly Israeli air strikes have been reported in Gaza, as Israel's defence minister said its military would expand its offensive and seize large areas of the Palestinian territory - incorporating them into what he described as "security zones". Israel Katz said the expanded operation aimed to "destroy and clear the area of terrorists and terrorist infrastructure", and would require a large-scale evacuation of Palestinians. Later, at least 19 Palestinians, including nine children, were killed in a strike on a UN clinic sheltering displaced families in the northern town of Jabalia, the nearby Indonesian hospital said. The Israeli military said it targeted "Hamas terrorists" hiding there.

Israel’s military operation in the Gaza Strip is expanding to seize “large areas,” the defense minister said, while officials at hospitals inside the Palestinian territory said that Israeli strikes overnight and into Wednesday had killed more than 40 people, nearly a dozen of them children. Israel’s offensive in the Palestinian territory was “expanding to crush and clean the area” of militants and “seizing large areas that will be added to the security zones of the State of Israel,” Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a written statement. The Israeli government has long maintained a buffer zone just inside Gaza along its security fence and has greatly expanded since the war began in 2023. Israel says the buffer zone is needed for its security, while Palestinians view it as a land grab that further shrinks the narrow coastal territory, home to around 2 million people.

Israel's offensive in the Gaza Strip is "expanding to crush and clean the area of terrorists and terrorist infrastructure and capture large areas that will be added to the security zones of the State of Israel", a statement from Israel Katz said on Wednesday. He called on Gaza residents to "expel Hamas and return all hostages". The militant group still holds 59 captives, of whom 24 are believed to still be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals. Mr Katz did not specify which areas of Gaza would be seized in the expanded operation, which includes the "extensive evacuation" of the population from fighting areas. "This is the only way to end the war," Mr Katz said.