TEL AVIV, April 7 -- Israel has significantly increased its presence in the Gaza Strip since resuming its military campaign against Hamas last month, now controlling more than half of the territory and forcing Palestinians into ever-smaller areas.

The largest continuous zone under Israeli control lies along the Gaza border, where soldiers and rights groups report that homes, farmland, and infrastructure have been systematically destroyed to render the area uninhabitable. In recent weeks, the size of this military buffer zone has doubled.

Israel says this intensified control is a temporary measure aimed at pressuring Hamas to free the hostages taken during the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that triggered the war. However, human rights groups and ...