Israeli ground forces seize part of Gaza, raising pressure

WAR IN THE MIDDLE EAST

Tents have been set up Palestinian families displaced from their homes in the Unknown Soldier Park in central Gaza City, on Wednesday as war operations continue. SAHER ALGHORRA — THE NEW YORK TIMES

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By Aaron Boxerman

The New York Times

Israeli ground forces pushed deeper into the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, taking over part of a major corridor that bisects the Palestinian enclave, in the most significant ground operation since the collapse of the ceasefire with Hamas.

The operation followed wide-scale Israeli aerial bombardment in Gaza that began early Tuesday, ending the fragile truce that had held since mid-January. More than 400 people were killed in the airstrikes, according to the Gaza health ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.

On Wednesday, the Israeli military said soldiers had begun “targeted ground activities” along the road — known as the Netzarim Corridor — to create a “partial buffer zone” between northern and southern Gaza. Israeli forces had widened their control “to the center of the Netzarim Corridor,” the military said.

Israel has not returned to full-scale war in Gaza that matches the intensity of its 15-month military campaign against Hamas. The Palestinian armed group has also not responded militarily to the Tuesday attack, which it said killed at least five members of its Gaza leadership.

It was unclear how many Israeli soldiers were now deployed along the part of the Netzarim Corridor or whether it marked the beginning of a sustained ground offensive. But Israeli leaders appeared to be gradually stepping up attacks, in an apparent effort to force Hamas to agree to more favorable terms for a settlement to free the dozens of hostages remaining in Gaza.

And unless Hamas capitulated, Israel was ready to continue ramping up pressure on the group, officials said.

Israel Katz, the Israeli defense minister, threatened Wednesday that Israel could again start ordering Palestinians to flee parts of Gaza that would become combat zones, as it frequently did before the ceasefire.

But analysts said that it was far from clear that escalating Israeli military pressure could force Hamas to change its position in the ceasefire talks in the short term. Hamas has also vowed that Israel will not “achieve through war and destruction” what it failed to force the group to accept at the negotiating table.

Control of the Netzarim Corridor allowed the Israeli military to prevent hundreds of thousands of Palestinians displaced to the south from returning to their homes in northern Gaza. At least one major route along the coast still appeared to be outside of Israeli control as of Wednesday, allowing Palestinians to travel across the enclave.