Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz on Wednesday vowed to step up Israel's offensive in Gaza if the Hamas militant group does not cease launching rockets into Israel.

On the same day, Israeli strikes killed at least 17 people in the Gaza Strip, according to the Palestinian WAFA news agency.

What did Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz say?

Katz called for the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip and for Hamas to stop launching rockets at Israel.

"I want to send a clear message from here to the heads of the terrorists in Gaza: If Hamas does not soon allow the release of the Israeli hostages from Gaza... and continues firing at Israeli communities, it will face blows of an intensity not seen in Gaza for a long time," he said while visiting the town of Netivot, which lies around 16 kilometers (around 10 miles) east of the Palestinian enclave.

Previously, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a post on the platform X that Hamas had fired two rockets at the town on New Year's Eve. There were no reports of casualties from the attack.

Katz was appointed defense minister in November after predecessor Yoav Gallant was ousted over disagreements with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

17 people killed in Israeli strikes — WAFA

At least 15 people were killed in the shelling of a residential building in Jabaliya in the northern Gaza Strip, according to WAFA, which is based in Ramallah in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

An Israeli military spokesperson said that the IDF was investigating the event.

Two other people were also reportedly killed in a strike on the al-Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza.

Israel's offensive in Gaza has killed more than 45,500 Palestinians since October 2023, according to health officials in the enclave, and most of the population has been displaced.

On October 7, 2023, Hamas launched attacks on Israel that led to the deaths of 1,200 people, with 251 people taken to Gaza as hostages, according to Israeli figures.

sdi/dj (AP, AFP, dpa, Reuters)