Israel said it’s expanding military operations in Gaza, days after asking people in southern parts of the Palestinian territory to leave as it prepares for more intense fighting with Hamas.

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.

Israel’s defense minister says the country's military operation in the Gaza Strip is expanding to seize “large areas” of the Palestinian territory. Defense Minister Israel Katz said Wednesday that the operation was “expanding to crush and clean the area of terrorists and terrorist infrastructure and capture large areas that will be added to the security zones of the State of Israel.