Troops push into northern towns, expand a buffer zone and issue evacuation orders in the south

Israel said it recaptured an area from which it withdrew in the recent cease-fire, in the most significant ground operation since the truce with Hamas collapsed.

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.