With no hostage deal agreement, Israeli forces continue expansion of ground op in southern Gaza

Israeli military troops began conducting ground activity in the Al Janina neighborhood in Rafah on Saturday to expand the security zone in southern Gaza. As part of the operation, the troops dismantled Hamas terrorist infrastructure in the neighborhood. 

At the same time, the IDF and the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) continued to carry out aerial strikes on Hamas and Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terror targets throughout the Gaza Strip. 

Among the terror targets struck over the weekend were weapons storage facilities, rocket launchers and military structures from which terrorists were operating

The IDF also attacked sites in the area of Khan Younis, which had been used by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group to launch mortars toward Israeli territory. 

Since the end of the previous hostage-ceasefire deal, Hamas and PIJ have resumed rocket fire toward Israel. Last week, there were several launches towards Israel, including two launches targeting the Tel Aviv area. The IDF also reported that several launches misfired, falling in the Gaza Strip. In previous conflicts, approximately 11% of all Hamas and PIJ rocket fire has landed in Gaza.

IDF Arabic Spokesman Col. Avichay Adraee issued a warning on social media, instructing residents of the eastern neighborhoods of Khan Younis to flee to the humanitarian zone of al-Mawasi ahead of further IDF strikes and activity.

#عاجل ‼️ إلى جميع سكان قطاع غزة المتواجدين في منطقة عبسان والقرارة وخربة خزاعة
🔴هذا انذار مسبق وأخير قبل الغارات!🔴
⭕️تعود المنظمات الإرهابية وتطلق قذائفها الصاروخية من بين المدنيين.
⭕️لقد حذرنا هذه المنطقة مرات عديدة.
⭕️من أجل سلامتكم عليكم الانتقال بشكل فوري غربًا نحو مراكز… pic.twitter.com/aZ3CLDr0iY

— افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) March 29, 2025

On Saturday, there was an explosion involving a D9 bulldozer in central Gaza, causing no injuries. The IDF is investigating the incident, but preliminary assessments indicate it may have originated from old, unexploded ordnance. 

The strikes come as part of the gradual expansion of ground activity in Gaza and in parallel with reports of a new Egyptian proposal for a hostage-ceasefire deal with Hamas. 

The Qatari newspaper Al-Arabi Al-Jadeed, citing sources in Egypt, reported that Hamas has agreed to an Egyptian ceasefire proposal under which it would release Israeli-American hostage Idan Alexander, along with four other hostages,some reportedly alive. In exchange, humanitarian aid would be allowed into Gaza, and negotiations on the second phase of the ceasefire agreement would begin.

The expansion of ground activity has also extended to the northern Gaza Strip. On Friday, soldiers from the 401st Brigade completed the destruction of the Nasser neighborhood. The Nasser neighborhood overlooked the communities of Sderot and Netiv Ha'asara. While much of the area had already been destroyed during previous fighting, the IDF troops leveled the remains of buildings with compromised structures or from which the forces had detected terror activity. 

The IDF also reported that over the past few days, during an IDF and Shin Bet operation in Gaza, soldiers located and recovered findings associated with the body of Manny Menachem Goddard, who was murdered and kidnapped by PIJ on Oct. 7, 2023. Despite the recovered findings, his body is still being held in Gaza.

The findings were retrieved from a PIJ outpost area in Rafah. 

Following an identification process carried out by the National Institute of Forensic Medicine and the Israel Police, IDF representatives notified the Goddard family.

Palestinian sources reported that Hamas has begun to crack down on the group that began the protests last week. While Hamas originally ignored the rallies, attempting to dismiss them as being instigated by “outside elements,” the group reportedly began to respond more strongly on Thursday evening and Friday.

Palestinian families of several of the protest organizers reported receiving threatening phone calls. Several were summoned by Hamas security forces and threatened with physical harm if the protests were not stopped. 

On Saturday, the family of Palestinian activist Odai Nasser Saadi Al-Rubai, one of the leaders of last week’s anti-Hamas protests in Gaza, said his body was dumped at the doorstep of their home. According to photos and video released by the family, he was beaten and abused before being killed. 

🚨 BREAKING: Hamas militias have killed 22-year-old Odai Naser Saadi, one of the leaders of the anti-Hamas protest movement in Gaza.

He was kidnapped, tortured for four hours, and then executed. His body was dumped at the doorstep of his family’s home, with a chilling message:… pic.twitter.com/GfeMpmhljX

— Ihab Hassan (@IhabHassane) March 29, 2025

Meanwhile, Hamas-affiliated "Gaza Now" announced on its Telegram channel that Hamas killed six “collaborators” for involvement in the anti-Hamas demonstrations.

Hamas also reportedly forced a group of clan elders (mukhtars) to issue a statement condemning the demonstrations, which they had previously supported, as the terror group attempts to reinforce its control over the Gaza Strip.