Hundreds of thousands of Gazans sought shelter as Israeli forces advanced into the ruins of the city of Rafah.

Israel’s defense minister says the country's military operation in the Gaza Strip is expanding to seize “large areas” of the Palestinian territory.

JERUSALEM (AP) — 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, nearly a dozen of them children.

Demanding an end to the war, hundreds pressed the militants to relinquish control of the enclave, a rare demonstration against a group that has suppressed dissent with violence.

Demonstrations against Hamas erupted on March 25 in the northern Gaza Strip and spread since then to other parts of the territory. Three common themes can be easily detected in the demands of the demonstrators: a cry for help,

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that the military was "dissecting" the Gaza Strip and seizing territory to pressure Hamas into freeing hostages still held in the enclave.