DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — In the latest intensification of hostilities, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Wednesday the establishment of a new security corridor within the Gaza Strip. This move aims to ratchet up pressure on Hamas and appears to target the southern city of Rafah, which Israel has demanded to be evacuated. The corridor is suggested to split Rafah from the remainder of the Palestinian region.
Netanyahu’s statement followed a declaration from the Israeli defense minister that Israel plans to annex substantial portions of Gaza into its security zones. Concurrently, a series of Israeli airstrikes resulted in the deaths of over 40 Palestinians, nearly half of whom were women and children, as per Palestinian health officials.
Israel’s government remains firm in its pledge to intensify the 18-month-long conflict with Hamas until the group releases remaining hostages, disarms, and exits the territory. The ceasefire, terminated last March, has been replaced by a one-month embargo on food, fuel, and humanitarian imports.
The proposed security corridor, dubbed the Morag corridor by Netanyahu after a former Jewish settlement positioned between Rafah and Khan Younis, seems to mirror the Philadelphi corridor located along the Egypt-Gaza border that Israel has controlled since last May. In addition, the Netzarim corridor, another former settlement name, now segregates the northern third of Gaza, including Gaza City, from the rest of the territory. These regions stretch from Israel’s border to the Mediterranean.
Netanyahu emphasized, “We are partitioning the strip and increasing the pressure incrementally so that they release our hostages.”
In response, the Palestinian Authority, which is supported by the West and rivals Hamas, announced its total opposition to the new corridor while urging Hamas to relinquish its power over Gaza amidst burgeoning protests against the group.
In northern Gaza, an Israeli airstrike hit a U.N. facility in the Jabaliya refugee camp, leaving 15 individuals dead, including nine children and two women, reported the Indonesian Hospital. The Israeli military claimed the target was a Hamas command center.
The building, once a clinic, served as a refuge for over 700 displaced people, according to Juliette Touma from the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees. While no U.N. staff were harmed, fears persisted among those sheltering there, many of whom Touma described as having “nowhere else to go.”
U.N. agencies now classify over 60% of Gaza as a “no-go” area due to evacuation orders from Israel, said Olga Cherevko of the U.N. humanitarian aid office. Thousands reside in inadequate tent encampments or the debris of their homes.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz asserted Israel’s intentions to seize large regions to extend its security buffers, encouraging Gaza’s populace to “expel Hamas and return all hostages,” as a resolution to the conflict.
On a broader scope, Netanyahu has shared plans to maintain control over Gaza post-conflict and advance a relocation project proposed by former U.S. President Donald Trump, aimed at resettling Gaza’s populace, a plan that Palestinians vehemently oppose as a forced expulsion.
Demands from Hamas include full prisoner swaps and a lasting ceasefire upon revealing the status of the 59 remaining hostages, 24 suspected alive. Still, the group refuses to relinquish arms or abandon their territory.
In Israel, the decision to forgo the ceasefire has spurred protests, with fears regarding the safety of hostages escalating. Families representing the hostages voiced their alarm at the escalation, urging international intervention to prioritize hostage releases.
Recent Israeli airstrikes claimed 28 more lives on Wednesday across various zones, marking an ongoing rise in civilian casualties. While Israel maintains that its operations target militants, civilian casualties persist amid highly populated areas. The Israeli military also reported intercepting projectiles from Gaza, leading to evacuation alerts for communities due to impending retaliatory actions.
The conflict, which began with a Hamas attack in October 2023 that resulted in the deaths of approximately 1,200 mostly civilian Israelis and countless hostage seizures, has left a substantial toll. Gaza’s Health Ministry cites over 50,000 Palestinian fatalities, while Israel claims substantial militant losses, though specifics remain unverified.
The devastation has rendered much of Gaza desolate, displacing nearly 90% of its residents at the height of the warfare.