India, April 2 -- Israeli defence minister Israel Katz on Wednesday announced the military's operation in the Gaza Strip is expanding to capture "large areas".

In a statement, Israel Katz said there would be large-scale evacuation of the population from areas where there is fighting and urged Gazans to eliminate Hamas and return Israeli hostages as the only way to end the war.

However, the minister did not clarify how much land Israel intends to seize, news agency Reuters reported.

Israel has already set up a significant buffer zone within Gaza, expanding an area that existed around the edges of the enclave before the war and adding a large security area in the so-called Netzarim corridor through the middle of Gaza.

At the same time, ...