IDF Expands Gaza Operation as Israel’s Cabinet Votes to ‘Increase Pressure’ on Hamas

IDF Expands Gaza Operation as Israel’s Cabinet Votes to ‘Increase Pressure’ on Hamas

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has expanded the military operation in southern Gaza as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu-led security cabinet on Sunday voted in favor of  ‘increasing pressure’ on the terrorist group Hamas.

“The Israeli military said it was expanding the ground operations against the Palestinian jihadists of Hamas in southern Gaza, as well as sustaining its campaign of aerial bombardment of terror targets in the enclave,” the Israeli TV channel i24NEWS reported Saturday. The operation is being conducted with the “aim of expanding the security zone in the southern Gaza Strip,” the TV channel added.

The Israeli military says it expanded its ground offensive in the southern Gaza Strip in the past few hours.

Troops pushed into the al-Jneina neighborhood of Rafah, as part of efforts to expand a buffer zone along the borders of the Strip, the IDF says.

Amid the operation, the… pic.twitter.com/PrCIqJnWiO

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) March 29, 2025

The IDF also confirmed the widening of its ground operation in Rafah’s Al-Jenina neighborhood. “Over the past few hours, IDF troops have begun conducting ground activity in the Al Janina area in Rafah, in order to expand the security zone in southern Gaza,” the military said in a statement Saturday. “As part of the activity, the troops dismantled Hamas terrorist infrastructure.”

The increased Israeli military activity on the ground reflects Prime Minister Netanyahu’s government’s decision to hit Hamas even harder. “The security cabinet last night voted to increase pressure on Hamas, says the premier” Netanyahu, The Times of Israel reported Sunday.

The move to intensify the Gaza operation comes after Hamas last week rejected a ceasefire proposal presented by President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff, thereby refusing to negotiate the release of remaining hostages languishing in its captivity for around 540 days.

The YNET reported the widening of the ground operation:

The IDF expanded its ground operation in southern Gaza over the weekend, targeting Hamas positions in the al-Janina neighborhood of Rafah, the military said Saturday.

The operation, aimed at widening Israel’s security buffer in the south, came alongside a wave of airstrikes that hit dozens of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) targets across the enclave, including weapons depots, rocket launchers, military compounds and infrastructure used by terrorists. Several operatives involved in mortar attacks on Israel were killed, the military added.

The announcement followed a rare incident earlier in the day when an explosion occurred near an Israeli D9 bulldozer operating in the central buffer zone of the territory. While no injuries were reported, initial assessments suggest the blast may have resulted from an old explosive device or possibly anti-tank fire.
In response to subsequent mortar fire from terrorists, Israeli forces shelled the area and later struck a launch site in the same vicinity near Khan Younis.

Since the military operation resumed nearly twelve days ago, the IDF has succeeded in eliminating several high-value Hamas operatives, including the terror group’s self-styled ‘prime minister of Gaza,’ Ismail Barhoum, and its senior jihad-propagandist, Abdel Latif al-Qanou.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday declared that the increased pressure on Hamas was ‘working’ and was in fact the only way to bring the jihadist group on its knees and to secure the release of the remaining hostages. Hamas continues to hold 59 captives, out of which 24 are believed to be alive.

The Jerusalem Post reported the Israeli prime minister’s statement:

The military pressure Israel is applying on Hamas is working, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at a government meeting on Sunday.

Netanyahu added that the security cabinet had decided on Saturday to increase operations against Hamas. (…)

“It’s working because it operates simultaneously: on one hand, it crushes Hamas’s military and governmental capabilities, and on the other, it creates the conditions for the release of our hostages. That’s exactly what we’re doing,” Netanyahu added.

“We are committed to bringing the hostages back, and we are working to bring the hostages back. To this day, the combination of military and diplomatic pressure is the only thing that has led to the return of hostages,” Netanyahu further noted.

The prime minister addressed the future of the Gaza Strip following the Israel-Hamas War. “Hamas will lay down its arms, its leaders will be allowed to leave,” Netanyahu remarked.

IDF recovers remains of Manny Menachem Goddard from Gaza

The IDF, assisted by the Shin Bet security agency, recovered the remains of Israeli national, Manny Menachem Goddard, who was murdered by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terrorists on October 7, 2023, and had his body taken to Gaza in order to extort ransom from Israel.

BREAKING: In recent days, the IDF and Israeli Security Agency recovered evidence in Rafah, Gaza, linked to Manny Godard (73). Manny was brutally murdered and kidnapped into Gaza from Kibbutz Be’eri, southern Israel, by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad on October 7, 2023. The… pic.twitter.com/rllOdPnLGP

— StandWithUs (@StandWithUs) March 29, 2025

While the IDF managed to recover the partial remains of Godard, the rest of his body was still in the clutches of the Islamic Jihad terror group. “The military said that his remains were recovered from a PIJ outpost in Rafah,” the Jerusalem Post reported. “The military added that they believe terrorists still have the rest of his remains.”

73-year-old Manny Godard and his 63-year-old wife, Ayelet Godard were murdered by Islamic Jihad terrorists in their home in Kibbutz Be’eri on October 7.

Over the past few days, as part of an IDF and ISA operation in Gaza, the troops located and recovered findings associated with the body of Manny Menachem Goddard, who was murdered and kidnapped by Islamic Jihad on October 7, 2023. Despite the recovered findings, his body is still…

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) March 29, 2025

“Over the past few days, as part of an IDF and ISA [Shin Bet] operation in the Gaza Strip, the troops located and recovered findings associated with the body of Manny Menachem Goddard, who was murdered and kidnapped by the Islamic Jihad terrorist organization on October 7, 2023. Despite the recovered findings, his body is still being held in the Gaza Strip,” the military said in a statement Sunday. “The findings were retrieved from an Islamic Jihad outpost area in Rafah.”

IDF intercepts missile launched by Yemen’s Houthis

With the U.S. stepping up airstrikes on Houthi targets, the Yemen-based terrorist group again fired a missile towards Israel. The IDF on Sunday morning intercepted the missile before it could enter Israeli airspace.

A fragment of a Houthi missile fell inside a schoolyard in Israel.

The Houthis are firing ballistic missiles on a near daily basis and if this keeps up, a mass tragedy is inevitable. pic.twitter.com/jdcugLWYjh

— Aviva Klompas (@AvivaKlompas) March 30, 2025

“Following the sirens that sounded a short while ago in several areas in Israel, a missile launched from Yemen was intercepted by the IAF prior to crossing into Israeli territory,” the IDF said in a press statement.

This is the second Houthi strike on Israel in recent days, Israeli air defense systems on Thursday intercepted two missiles from Yemen.

The Israel Defense Force confirms that a long-range ballistic missile fired by the Iranian-backed Houthi terrorist group in Yemen was successfully intercepted earlier outside of Israeli Airspace. pic.twitter.com/ubv0ny0XTQ

— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) March 30, 2025

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