JNS
"The IDF is continuing to expand its operations westward," stated the military.
The Israel Defense Forces on Wednesday urged Palestinians in the Gaza City district of Zeitoun to evacuate to the southern Strip, as the army continues to deepen its ground operations against Hamas westward.
IDF forces first entered Zeitoun, once considered a major Hamas terrorist stronghold, in November 2023. In March 2024, the military carried out a two-week clearance operation in Zeitoun after Hamas's presence resurged in the Gaza City neighborhood.
"As previously warned, the IDF is continuing to expand its operations westward. For your safety, evacuate immediately southward to the Al-Mawasi area," Lt. Col. Avichay Adraee, head of the Arab Media Branch in the IDF Spokesperson's Unit, tweeted on Wednesday morning.
Al-Mawasi, a humanitarian zone near Gaza's southernmost city of Rafah, was established by the IDF in 2023 and later expanded.
Later on Wednesday, the IDF issued a second evacuation order for residents of a small part of Khan Yunis in the southern part of Gaza.
"The IDF is continuing its ground maneuver and is using heavy force in your area to expand the scope of the fighting," Adraee said in an X post.
Counter-terrorism operations across the coastal enclave are ongoing as part of "Operation Gideon's Chariots," an IDF campaign with the stated goal of dismantling Hamas's remaining military capabilities, taking control of key areas and securing the release of the 50 captives.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened a security discussion on Tuesday night, in which IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir presented options for continuing the campaign.
The meeting came amid widespread reports that Netanyahu was set to propose to the Cabinet a plan for a full-scale military occupation of the Gaza Strip until Hamas surrenders and frees the remaining captives.
A political source told Israel Hayom on Tuesday: "We have not been able to release the hostages using the methods that [have] been used until now. Therefore, the prime minister believes that with another method, that will be submitted for Cabinet approval, we can increase the chances."
The IDF announced on Wednesday afternoon that the Israeli Air Force had struck a Hamas weapons manufacturing site in Gaza City's Sheikh Radwan district the day prior. Ahead of the strike, measures were taken to minimize the risk of harming noncombatants, the military stated.
Meanwhile in the northern Gaza Strip, soldiers destroyed a terrorist position from where mortar shells were fired at them, it continued.
During operations in the northern city of Beit Hanoun, forces killed several gunmen, in addition to destroying terrorist infrastructure.
In central Gaza, the 401st Armored Brigade killed ten terrorists in Deir al-Balah, a strategic outskirt of the yet unconquered Nuseirat and Bureij refugee camps, where many hostages are believed to be kept.
After identifying the terrorist cell, the troops ordered an Air Force aircraft that struck and eliminated the gunmen, the IDF stated.
In the southern Strip, troops of the IDF's 36th Armored Division and the 143rd Division destroyed terror infrastructure, including "significant" tunnels, and killed gunmen.
On Tuesday, the army had reported ongoing operations against terrorist organizations throughout the Gaza Strip, coordinated with IDF Military Intelligence and the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet).
The 282nd Artillery Brigade struck over 30 targets within 24 hours, including buildings and operational apartments used by Hamas to coordinate attacks. Meanwhile, the 188th Armored Brigade combat team neutralized terrorists and dismantled a building housing an attack tunnel.
In the northern Strip, the Givati Brigade destroyed military equipment and uncovered underground shafts. Meanwhile, the 99th Division focused on identifying and dismantling terror infrastructure across the northern part of the Strip.
The 990th Artillery Brigade, operating under the 99th Division, also eliminated several terrorists and attacked military compounds linked to terrorist organizations.
The IDF also said on Tuesday that soldiers of the 36th Division had destroyed a 2 kilometer (1.24 mile) terrorist tunnel during operations in the southern part of Khan Yunis.
The forces also located a cache of mortar shells, grenades, explosive charges and other weapons hidden inside a structure, the IDF said.
"The fighters of the Kfir Brigade's combat team have so far destroyed hundreds of terrorist infrastructures, located dozens of weapons and eliminated terrorists in the area," according to the military statement.
