The Israeli military has indicated it could soon launch another major offensive in Rafah and ordered most of the southernmost city in the Gaza Strip evacuated.

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Wednesday that Israel is establishing a new security corridor across Gaza as the country said it planned to seize large areas of the Palestinian territory and launched a wave of strikes that Palestinian health officials said killed more than 40 people.

Israel says its war in Gaza is "expanding to crush and clean the area" of Hamas, but Palestinian civilians are once again being killed and displaced in huge numbers.

The aid workers and their ambulances were found Monday in a hastily dug grave, which was apparently plowed over by bulldozers, the UN said.

The Israeli military issued evacuation orders on Monday for most of Rafah and suggested it may soon launch another ground operation in the city.

As Israel orders wide new evacuations across the Gaza Strip, Palestinians say they are crushed by exhaustion and hopelessness at the prospect of fleeing once again.

Israel on Monday issued evacuation orders for the southern Palestinian city of Rafah, as its military continues to assault Gaza and prospects of resuming the short lived cease-fire remain uncertain.

The Palestinian presidency on Monday warned of dangers posed by Israel’s forced evacuation orders in Rafah, southern Gaza, urging the global community to uphold its responsibilities in defense of international law and humanitarian conventions.