Israel’s defense minister said it would expand its so-called “safety zone” in Gaza, including the southern city of Rafa.
During his visit to the region, Katz, Israel said the military was “smaller” and “more isolated” in Gaza to oppress Hamas to release the hostages it is still occupying.
The military has seized the land across the Palestinian territorial border, which has been described as a buffer zone to prevent attacks.
The expansion covering Rafa and its surrounding areas – almost one-fifth of Gaza – was separated from nearby Khan Younis after the military ordered civilians to evacuate and established a new corridor.
According to the United Nations, two-thirds of Gaza are designated as a “no-travel zone” or have evacuated orders after a one- or two-month ceasefire collapse since Israel launched an attack on Hamas on March 18.
It said 390,000 Palestinians (almost one-fifth of the 2.1 million people) were displaced again, with no safe place.
The United Nations also warned that supplies of food, medicine and fuel have been run out as Israel has blocked the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza since March 2.
Last May, the IDF launched a ground offensive in Rafah – the home of about 280,000 people – leaving much of the city in ruins last May.
It also seized a strategic land that stretched along the nearby border with Egypt (known as the “Philadelphia Corridor”), which was a necessary condition to prevent weapons from being smuggled into Gaza and Hamas for feeding.
During the ceasefire that began in January, about 100,000 residents returned to the city’s remaining homes, and the troops returned to the border area.
On March 31, nearly two weeks after the war resumed, the international currency Kieran Indian Army issued a new evacuation order, which the United Nations said covers 97% of Rafah and its surrounding provinces, covering 64 square kilometers (25 square miles).
Displaced people were told to go to a tent camp in the coastal area of Shanwasi, where the IDF was previously designated as a “humanitarian zone.”
The Rafa area was reportedly empty when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced three days later that the troops were “catching the Morag Corridor”, a reference to the former Jewish settlement between Rafa and Khan Yunis.
He said it would be the “second Philadelphia” and would increase pressure on Hamas to hand over the remaining 59 hostages, 24 of whom were considered alive.
Defense Minister Katz, along with senior Israeli commanders and journalists, visited the troops deployed in the new corridor on Wednesday.
“The IDF is eliminating terrorists, positioning and foiling the terrorist infrastructure and dismembering the Gaza Strip, even in places like the Morag Corridor, we have not operated so far,” he said in a video later released in his office.
“The Gaza population is evacuating from combat zones, and many areas are being caught and added to the security zone of the State of Israel, making Gaza smaller and isolated.”
Kaz also warned: “If Hamas continues to refuse and does not release the hostages as soon as possible, the IDF will conduct fierce military operations in all areas of Gaza.”
An Israeli journalist from the YNET News website accompanied him separately to quote him as saying: “All Rafas will be evacuated and become a safe zone. That’s what we are doing now.”
The BBC has asked the IDF to comment.
It said Thursday morning that the troops continued to operate “along the Rafa and Morag corridors” and that they “eliminated several terrorists and that they had found and demolished the terrorist infrastructure while working to “establish operational controls.”
As Israeli forces in May 2024, most of Rafah was left behind by ruins [Reuters]
Israeli military analysts suggest there is a plan to push Palestinian civilians to the coast so that Israeli forces can focus on eliminating Hamas in urban areas.
According to local media, the strategy will also allow IDF control to provide assistance to the coast – bypassing Hamas and international aid agencies.
The United Nations said on Tuesday that over the past three weeks, the International Airlines IF issued 15 evacuation orders, covering nearly 131 square kilometers (51 square miles), accounting for 36% of Gaza.
It added that another 30% of the territory is covered by the “no-travel” zone designated by Israel along the Gaza border, along the Wadigasa Valley along the northern and southern Wadigasa Valley of the territory.
The UN Human Rights Office warned last month that the evacuation order did not comply with the requirements of international law, accusing Israel of taking no steps to provide accommodation for people affected or ensure satisfactory hygiene, health, safety and nutritional conditions.
The Israeli government said it was evacuating civilians to protect them from harm and was used by Hamas as a “human shield” that violates international law.
The United Nations also said Israel’s five-week blockade against Gaza violates international law, which requires it to ensure that the basic needs of civilians under its control are met and to allow the rapid and unhindered passage of humanitarian aid.
In another development on Thursday, the IDF announced that a strike in eastern Gaza on Wednesday killed the commander of the Shejaiya Battalion in Hamas, identified as Haitham Sheikh Sheikh Khalil, and said attacks were being planned in the area.
A local hospital said the attack destroyed a four-story building and killed at least 29 people, including children.
The Israeli military launched a campaign to destroy Hamas in response to the unprecedented cross-border attack on October 7, 2023, with about 1,200 people killed and another 251 were taken hostage.
More than 50,880 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to data from the HAMAS operational Ministry of Health in the region.
