Israel wants to squeeze Hamas into releasing the dozens of hostages still held in the enclave. But other objectives have since emerged.

New military corridors, airstrikes, evacuation and a blockade of humanitarian aid exacerbate the humanitarian situation in Gaza. Is Israel's objective to pave the way for Trump's "Gaza Riviera" plans?

Hundreds of thousands of fleeing Gazans sought shelter on Thursday in one of the biggest mass displacements of the war, as Israeli forces advanced into the ruins of the city of Rafah, part of a newly announced "security zone" they intend to seize.

At least 73 people were killed during Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, according to the Hamas-controlled health authority, as Israel launched a major expansion of military operations. A recent ceasefire has become a distant memory for Palestinians in the coastal enclave after Israel announced plans to establish another security corridor dividing the strip and the army said it had encircled part of the southern Gazan city of Rafah.

After almost 18 months of unremitting bloodshed and carnage in Gaza, it is little wonder that the overwhelming body of world opinion favours a lasting ceasefire at the earliest opportunity.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz announced Wednesday a major expansion of the military’s operation in Gaza involving the seizure of large areas of land that would be “incorporated into Israel’s security zones.

Israel announced a major expansion of military operations in Gaza on Wednesday, saying large areas of the enclave would be seized and added to its security zones.

Even before the latest orders, tens of thousands fled temporary shelters in the week after Israel shattered a 2-month-old ceasefire on March 18 with renewed bombardment and ground assaults.

The United Nations on Tuesday dismissed as "ridiculous" an assertion by Israel that there was enough food in the Gaza Strip to last for a long period of time, despite the closure of all 25 bakeries in the enclave supported by the World Food Programme.