The IDF has killed 250 Hamas terrorists since it renewed hostilities in Gaza on March 18, IDF Chief Spokesperson Brig.-Gen. Effie Defrin said on Thursday in his first press conference since taking office on March 27.Defrin also said that, more broadly, the military has struck over 600 targets in Gaza since March 18, including 60 since a stronger invasion push on Wednesday.He said these attacks, mostly from the air force, would pave the way for even more ground troops to enter deeper into Gaza.Further, the new IDF spokesperson said that the military, often with the help of the air force, had assassinated 12 senior Hamas officials.Describing the new actions taken on Wednesday, Defrin said, “We stepped up [the invasion] to a new level to serve the goals of the war: returning the hostages and dismantling Hamas’s military and political rule.”Pressure on Hamas in hostage negotiationsDespite Defrin's and claims by other top Israeli political and defense officials of putting such enormous pressure on Hamas, that soon it will likely agree to more concessions in the Israel-Hamas hostage negotiations, there were no signs on Thursday that Hamas would make more moves toward Israel's position in the negotiations than it made earlier in the week.Earlier in the week, Hamas agreed to provide Israel with five live hostages and some deceased ones as part of an additional 50-day ceasefire, leading to an end to the war.

Israel's defense minister said expanding operations will "crush and clean the area" of militants, despite children making up many of the strikes' victims.

Israel’s military operation in the Gaza Strip is expanding to seize “large areas,” the defense minister said, while officials at hospitals inside the Palestinian territory said that Israeli strikes overnight and into Wednesday had killed more than 40 people,

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel had seized a corridor of land that would split one of Gaza’s largest cities from the rest of the enclave.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz announced Wednesday a major expansion of military operations in Hamas-run Gaza, saying the army would seize "large areas" of the Palestinian territory.

Israel has vowed to escalate the nearly 18-month war with Hamas until the militant group returns dozens of remaining hostages, disarms, and leaves the territory.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz announced Wednesday a major expansion of the military’s operation in Gaza involving the seizure of large areas of land that would be “incorporated into Israel’s security zones.

Israel announced a major expansion of military operations in Gaza on Wednesday, saying large areas of the enclave would be seized and added to its security zones, accompanied by a large-scale evacuation of the population.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel’s military is “switching gears” in Gaza, dividing and seizing more parts of the strip, a move experts say could mean Israel establishing deeper, more long-term control over the territory.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was shifting gears in Gaza and taking over more areas. “We are also doing something else: We are seizing the Morag Corridor. This will be an additional Philadelphi Corridor,

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the pressure on Gaza would increase until the remaining hostages were returned to Israel.