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Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Wednesday that the evacuation of people from combat zones in the Gaza Strip would soon continue and urged the population to “remove Hamas.”<\/p>\n
In a video address, Katz said that airstrikes on Hamas targets were only the first step, and warned that what follows would be much worse, without giving details.<\/p>\n
Katz told the residents of the devastated coastal area that they will “pay the full price.”<\/p>\n
“Return the hostages and remove Hamas,” the defence minister demanded, adding that this would provide Gazans with new opportunities such as migration to other countries.<\/p>\n
“The alternative is total devastation,” he said, vowing that Israel would act with a force that people in the Gaza Strip had never seen before.<\/p>\n
There have been recent warnings, including from Germany, urging Israel not to collectively punish the civilian population for the actions of Hamas.<\/p>\n
For the first time since a ceasefire began about two months ago, the Israeli air force on Tuesday extensively bombarded Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) targets in the Gaza Strip.<\/p>\n
According to the military, ground troops have also been deployed again.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n