Israel in control of more than half of Gaza as offensive deepens

Israel has expanded its presence in the Gaza Strip since relaunching its war against Hamas last month. It now controls more than 50 per cent of the enclave and is squeezing Palestinians into shrinking areas of land. The largest contiguous area the army controls is near the Gaza border, where the military has razed Palestinian homes, farmland and infrastructure to the point that they are no longer habitable, Israeli soldiers and rights groups said. This military buffer zone has doubled in size in recent weeks.