Israel ground forces pushed deeper into the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, taking over parts of a major corridor that bisects the Palestinian enclave, in the most significant ground operation since the collapse of the cease-fire with Hamas.
The operation followed wide-scale Israeli aerial bombardment in Gaza that began early on Tuesday morning, ending the fragile truce between Israel and Hamas that had held since mid-January. More than 400 people were killed, according to the Gaza health ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
The Israeli military said soldiers had begun “targeted ground activities” along the road — known as the Netzarim Corridor — to create a “partial buffer zone” between northern and southern Gaza. Israeli forces had widened their control “to the center of the Netzarim Corridor,” the military said.
Israel has not returned to full-scale war in Gaza that would match the intensity of its 15-month aerial bombardment and ground invasion. But by gradually stepping up attacks, Israeli leaders appeared to be trying to force Hamas to come to more favorable terms for a settlement.
In a televised address, Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, vowed that Israel would negotiate only alongside attacks on Hamas. He said the latest wave of airstrikes was “just the beginning.”
“From now on, Israel will act against Hamas with increasing might,” Mr. Netanyahu said in a televised statement. “And from now on, negotiations will only take place under fire.”
During the 15-month campaign against Hamas, Israeli forces captured and fortified the area around the Netzarim Corridor, which cuts the enclave roughly in half. Control of the road enabled the Israeli military to prevent hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians from returning to their homes in northern Gaza.
Israeli troops gradually withdrew from Netzarim after the truce with Hamas went into effect in mid-January. Palestinians returned home en masse in emotional scenes, often finding little but rubble where their homes and neighborhoods once stood.
