In pressing forward with its assault on the territory, Israel hopes to squeeze Hamas into releasing the remaining hostages. But other objectives have emerged.

Hamas is ready to release all remaining 59 hostages in Gaza in exchange for a permanent cease-fire with Israel, Palestinian officials said. As Israel ramps up its military campaign in Gaza, the terror group told negotiators it was prepared to free all its hostages so long as it gets assurance that Jerusalem will withdraw all its forces,

Israel’s renewed military offensive in the Gaza Strip threatens to be even deadlier and more destructive than the last, as it pursues wider aims with far fewer constraints.

Israel plans to establish another security corridor that divides the Gaza Strip, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday. "We are conquering the Morag corridor," he said in a video address.

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,

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz announced Wednesday a major expansion of military operations in Hamas-run Gaza, saying the army would seize "large areas" of the Palestinian territory.

Hamas decided not to respond or engage with Israel's counter-proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza, an official told Reuters on Wednesday, affirming it is committed to the mediators' plan instead.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday that the military was "dissecting" the Gaza Strip and seizing territory to pressure Hamas into freeing hostages still held in the territory.

The defence minister said large areas of the territory would be seized