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.

A top official said “large areas” of the enclave would be seized, suggesting that Israel intended to hold on to more territory.

By James Mackenzie, Nidal al-Mughrabi and Mahmoud Issa JERUSALEM/GAZA (Reuters) -Israeli troops were expanding their control of ground in northern Gaza, the military said on Friday, days after the government announced plans to seize large areas with an operation in the south.