International negotiations have failed to reach a new deal for a ceasefire and the release of the remaining 59 hostages being held by Hamas – 24 of whom are believed to be alive.
No Israeli hostages have been released since Israel resumed its offensive on 18 March after the collapse of a two-month ceasefire with Hamas.
Since then, Israel has seized large areas of Gaza, displacing hundreds of thousands of Gazans again.
Israel has said its aim was to put pressure on Hamas, a strategy that has included a blockade on humanitarian aid that has been in place for more than two months.
Aid agencies, who have reported acute shortages of food, water and medicines, have said this was a policy of starvation that could amount to a war crime, an allegation Israel rejects.
An expanded offensive will put more pressure on exhausted reservists, some of whom have been drafted five or six times since the war started, and renew concerns of the families of hostages, who have urged the government to reach a deal with Hamas, saying this is the only way to save those who are still alive.
The measure will also raise new questions about Netanyahu’s real intentions in Gaza.
He has been frequently accused by the hostages’ families and opponents of sabotaging negotiations for a deal, and of prolonging the war for political purposes, allegations he denies.
And almost 19 months into the war, he has not presented a day-after plan./BBC
