Israel says 30 percent of Gaza now turned into a buffer zone

Israel announced Wednesday it had converted 30 per cent of Gaza into a buffer zone as it pressed its unrelenting military offensive, vowing to maintain its blockade on humanitarian aid to the war-ravaged territory.

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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also ordered security chiefs and negotiators to keep pressing for the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, where Israel resumed air and ground attacks on March 18, ending a two-month ceasefire.

Gaza's civil defence agency reported yesterday that a wave of Israeli air strikes hit multiple encampments for displaced Palestinians across the territory, killing at least 25 people.

Agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal said an overnight strike targeted several tents in the Al-Mawasi area of the southern city of Khan Yunis, resulting in 16 deaths.

The United Nations said an estimated 500,000 Palestinians have been displaced since the end of the ceasefire, triggering what it has described as the most severe humanitarian crisis the territory has faced since the war started after the Hamas Oct 7, 2023 attacks.

The Israeli military said that it had "achieved full operational control over several key areas and routes throughout the Gaza Strip".

"Approximately 30 percent of the Gaza Strip's territory is now designated as an Operational Security Perimeter."