JERUSALEM, April 2 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Wednesday that the military is seizing additional territory in southern Gaza to establish a new security corridor for Israel.

"Last night in the Gaza Strip, we shifted gears. The IDF (Israel Defense Forces) is seizing territory, striking militants, and destroying infrastructure," Netanyahu said in a video statement.

He said the Israeli military is "taking control of" the area between the cities of Khan Younis and Rafah.

"This will be the second Philadelphi, an additional Philadelphi Corridor," he said, referring to land along the Gaza-Egypt border that Israeli troops now fully control. Troops are also controlling the entire buffer zone between the enclave and Israel.

Netanyahu said the seizure of the "second Philadelphi" is carried out "because we are slicing up the enclave."

The Israeli military is "gradually increasing the pressure, step by step," he said, warning that the more Hamas refuses to release Israeli hostages, "the more the pressure will increase -- until they comply."

Earlier on Wednesday, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz announced a significant expansion of the military offensive in Gaza, saying troops will seize additional areas in the strip to establish buffer zones.

Israel ended a two-month ceasefire on March 18 and resumed deadly air and ground assaults on the Palestinian enclave.

The renewed Israeli attacks have so far killed 1,066 Palestinians and injured 2,597 others, Gaza health authorities said Wednesday, noting that 24 dead bodies and 55 injuries arrived at Gaza hospitals over the past 24 hours.

The death toll in Gaza since the war began in October 2023 has risen to 50,423, with 114,638 injured, the authorities said. Enditem

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