Israel will take more territory in Gaza and fight until Hamas is wiped out if the Palestinian militant group keeps refusing to free remaining hostages, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Tuesday.

Israel is making plans for a potential major ground offensive in Gaza that would involve sending tens of thousands of troops into combat to clear and occupy large swaths of the enclave, an Israeli official and a second source familiar with the matter said.

Israel said it has targeted prominent members of Hamas in recent days, including the group’s new prime minister in a “precise strike” on where he was operating within Gaza’s Nasser Medical Complex.

New airstrikes by Israel Defense Forces in Gaza killed at least 61 Palestinians over a 24-hour time frame including two journalists as the doll toll rises.

Hossam Shabat and Mohammad Mansour are among more than 170 journalists killed in the Gaza Strip since October 2023, the Committee to Protect Journalists said.

Israel killed two members of Hamas’ de facto cabinet during a renewed Gaza offensive aimed at eliminating the Iran-backed militant group’s role as a military and governing force. That brought to 11 the death toll within the 20-person forum.