The Israeli military has intensified strikes on parts of Gaza after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged that the country’s forces would be “switching gears” in the territory, dividing and seizing more parts of the strip.

The Israel Defense Forces said Friday morning that its ground troops had begun operating in the Shejaiya area of the northern Gaza Strip.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was shifting gears in Gaza and taking over more areas. “We are also doing something else: We are seizing the Morag Corridor. This will be an additional Philadelphi Corridor,

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel had seized a corridor of land that would split one of Gaza’s largest cities from the rest of the enclave.

STORY: Hundreds of thousands of Gazans fled and sought shelter on Thursday as Israeli forces advanced into the ruins of Rafah.“What they are doing to us is unjust, it is a shame, this is not a life. Every day,

Israel now says it is expanding its offensive. In a video statement released on April 2, Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said the Israeli military had “shifted gears” in the Gaza Strip, “seizing territory,

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

Israel announced a major expansion of military operations in Gaza on Wednesday, saying large areas of the enclave would be seized and added to its security zones, accompanied by a large-scale evacuation of the population.

A top official said “large areas” of the enclave would be seized, suggesting that Israel intended to hold on to more territory.