Israel's defense minister said expanding operations will "crush and clean the area" of militants, despite children making up many of the strikes' victims.

Israel’s war 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, nearly a dozen of them children.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz announced Wednesday a major expansion of the military’s operation in Gaza involving the seizure of large areas of land that would be “incorporated into Israel’s security zones.

STORY: Israel plans to seize large parts of Gaza as part of a major expansion of military operations in the enclave, it announced on Wednesday.The plans include large-scale evacuations of the population,

At least 19 people are reported killed in Jabalia as Israel's defence minister says it is expanding ground operations.

Israel Katz warned that “large areas” of the enclave would be seized and added to military-controlled security zones, suggesting that the country intended to hold on to more territory.

Israel has been accused of executing Palestinian paramedics after bodies were found in a mass grave with their hands tied and bullet wounds to the head.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz announced a major expansion of the military operation in Gaza on Wednesday, saying large areas of the enclave would be seized and added to the security zones of Israel.

Two close associates of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have been remanded in custody for three days, following their arrest on Monday by Israeli police in connection with an investigation into suspected unlawful ties between the senior aides and Qatar,

Israeli police announced on Monday the arrest of two individuals, one of whom was confirmed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's ruling Likud party as a senior aide to the long-serving

The Israeli military indicated on Monday it could soon launch another major offensive in Rafah and ordered most of the southernmost city in the Gaza Strip evacuated. Israel ended its ceasefire with Hamas and renewed its air and ground war earlier this month.

The war in Gaza has often distracted from an internal battle between Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, and other parts of the state. On Monday, that domestic conflict careened into full view.

The arrests ratchet up political tensions in the country, where the government is trying to fire both the domestic security chief and attorney general, while expanding the power of politicians over the appointment of judges.