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.

Israel plans to establish another security corridor that divides the Gaza Strip, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday. "We are conquering the Morag corridor," he said in a video address.

Israel’s military operation 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,

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz announced Wednesday a major expansion of military operations in Hamas-run Gaza, saying the army would seize "large areas" of the Palestinian territory.

Hamas decided not to respond or engage with Israel's counter-proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza, an official told Reuters on Wednesday, affirming it is committed to the mediators' plan instead.

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

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday that the military was "dissecting" the Gaza Strip and seizing territory to pressure Hamas into freeing hostages still held in the territory.

DEIR AL BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — An Israeli airstrike on Thursday killed at least 27 Palestinians sheltering at a school in northern Gaza and wounded 70 more, said Health Ministry spokesman Zaher al-Wahidi, as Israeli forces have expanded their strikes and evacuation orders across the war-torn territory in recent days.

Israel has vowed to escalate the nearly 18-month war with Hamas until the militant group returns dozens of remaining hostages, disarms, and leaves the territory.

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

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.

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.

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