The Israel Defense Forces confirmed on Wednesday, March 19 that its ground troops had taken back control from Hamas of parts of the Netzarim Corridor, which divides the northern Gaza Strip from its south.

The renewed Israeli military campaign has been officially named “Operation Strength and Sword.”

“During the last 24 hours, IDF forces began a focused ground operation in the central and southern Gaza Strip with the aim of expanding the security zone and creating a partial barrier between the northern and southern parts of the Strip,” the IDF stated, confirming local reports.

As part of the renewed ground operation, soldiers “took control and extended their control back to the center of the Netzarim Corridor.”

The army has also called up soldiers of its elite Golani Brigade “to be on standby to operate in the Gaza Strip,” according to the IDF statement.

Israeli Minister of Defense Israel Katz warned Gazans earlier on Wednesday that “total destruction” would be coming unless the remaining 59 hostages are returned and Hamas terrorists are swiftly removed from power.

“The first Sinwar destroyed Gaza,” Katz said in a Hebrew-language message to Gaza’s residents, referencing slain Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, who launched the terror organization’s Oct. 7, 2023, cross-border massacre. “The second Sinwar will completely destroy it.”

“The Air Force attack against Hamas terrorists was just the first step. The continuation will be much harder; you will pay the full price,” he vowed.

“Return the hostages and remove Hamas—the alternative is complete destruction and devastation. If all the Israeli hostages are not released and Hamas is not removed from Gaza, Israel will act with forces you have never encountered before,” warned Israel’s defense minister.

He concluded, “Take the advice of the U.S. president. Return the hostages, remove Hamas and other options will be open to you— including leaving to other places in the world for those who wish.

“The alternative is total destruction and devastation,” promised Katz.

Overnight Tuesday, the IDF carried out airstrikes on a Hamas site in the northern Gaza Strip after preparations for launching attacks on Israeli territory were identified, the military said on Wednesday.

Additionally, during the night, Navy forces targeted several vessels off the coast of Gaza that were being used for terrorist activities by Hamas and Islamic Jihad, according to the IDF.

A Hamas battalion headquarters in Daraj Tuffah was among the key sites struck. The military described it as a command center used to plan attacks against Israeli civilians and IDF forces.

During the second straight night of airstrikes, the IDF said it had eliminated dozens of terrorists and destroyed terror infrastructure and launch sites.

The military reaffirmed its commitment to neutralizing threats in Gaza, as part of “Operation Strength and Sword,” a campaign of extensive strikes announced early Tuesday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the military was acting after the Hamas terror group rebuffed several proposals from U.S. Middle East envoy Steven Witkoff to extend the ceasefire in the coastal enclave during the Ramadan and Passover holidays.

“Israel will, from now on, act against Hamas with increasing military strength,” said Israel’s Prime Minister’s Office. The goal of the military campaign in Gaza remains to achieve “the objectives of the war as they have been determined by the political echelon, including the release of all of our hostages, the living and the deceased,” the statement added.

Netanyahu said on Tuesday night that Hamas in the Gaza Strip has “already felt our strength” since the IDF returned to fighting, warning that future ceasefire negotiations with the terror group “will only take place under fire.”

Hamas, however, insisted that it has not abandoned negotiations. “Hamas has not closed the door on negotiations, but we insist there is no need for new agreements,” senior official Taher al-Nunu told AFP from Cairo on Wednesday, calling for international pressure to enforce the ceasefire.

The IDF confirmed on Tuesday night that Essam al-Dalis, “the Hamas prime minister and a senior government figure in the Gaza Strip” was among several senior terrorists killed in the campaign.

Mahmoud Abu Watfa, a deputy minister in Gaza’s Hamas-run Interior Ministry; Ahmed al-Hetta, the justice minister; and Bahjat Abu Sultan, head of central operations in the Gaza Interior Ministry; were also killed.

Palestinian Islamic Jihad confirmed on Tuesday evening “with great pride and honor” that its spokesman Naji Abu Saif, known as “Abu Hamza,” was killed in an Israeli strike that day.

Nearly three in five Israelis back the resumption of fighting in the Gaza Strip in the wake of Hamas’s rejection of a U.S. proposal to extend the ceasefire in exchange for the release of more hostages.

According to the most recent Israeli government assessments, there are 59 captives remaining under the control of Palestinian terrorists in Gaza. Of those, 24 are believed to still be alive.

According to a survey carried out by Israel’s Direct Polls Institute and published by Channel 14 on Monday night—before the Israel Defense Forces launched a campaign of extensive airstrikes in Gaza—59% of Israelis support the resumption of hostilities. Some 38% said they opposed it, while 3% of respondents did not express a position.

Amit Halevy, a lawmaker for Netanyahu’s ruling Likud Party, told JNS on Wednesday that “from day one, Israel should have done the real war—not what we did until now, which were actually surgical operations.

“That’s why we didn’t succeed [in defeating] Hamas. That’s why Hamas today has actually rebuilt and renewed his forces,” said Halevy.

“What we need to have is total victory. And for this, we need not only to attack them here and there but to take over the Gaza Strip. You must take over and cut off the roots of the terror. You need to take over two things: the land and the population. Otherwise, you kill 100, you have 200 others,” he continued.

Halevy praised U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan to relocate Gazans, saying that Palestinians who refuse to leave or be evacuated to Israeli-controlled areas should be viewed as the enemy.

“As any Nazi enemy, you will be killed or arrested. Anyone that wants to go to humanitarian areas and to have a different life—not an evil and barbarian life—he can go. We will let him go, and all the rest that will stay in other regions, we should have an effective siege. We should defeat them totally,” added Halevy.