Israel wants to establish a new security corridor in Gaza and occupy territory – State
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Wednesday that Israel is building a new security corridor in Gaza as the country said it plans to occupy large swathes of Palestinian territory and launched a wave of strikes that Palestinian health officials said killed more than 40 people.
Netanyahu described the new corridor as the Morag corridor in a statement, using the name of the Jewish settlement that once stood between Rafa and Khan Younis, which suggests it will operate between the two southern cities.
Israel vowed to escalate the war with Hamas for nearly 18 months until militant groups returned dozens of hostages, disarmed and left the territory. Israel ended the ceasefire in March and stopped a month-long ceasefire for all imported food, fuel and humanitarian aid.
“We are gradually increasing the pressure so that they give us hostages. The more they don't give, the more stress they will be until the pressure they put in increases,” Netanyahu said.
Israeli Defense Minister Katz said in a statement that the attack is currently aimed at “capturing large areas that will be added to the safe zone” without elaboration. Israel controls a buffer zone across Gaza's entire border and recently ordered a full evacuation of the southern city of Rafa.
In northern Gaza, Israeli airstrikes attacked a UN building in the building's Jabbaria refugee camp, killing 15 people, including nine children and two women, according to Indonesian hospitals. The Israeli military said it attacked Hamas militants in the command and control center.
Juliette Touma, spokesman for the Palestinian Refugee Agency, a major aid provider in Gaza, said the building was formerly a clinic and had been transformed into a shelter for displaced people, with more than 700 living there. No UN staff were injured during the strike.
She said UN staff warned people about the danger of staying there after a strike on Wednesday, but many chose to stay “just because they absolutely have nowhere to go.”
The UN says most of Gaza is “no travel”
Olga Cherevko, spokesman for the UN Humanitarian Assistance Office, said more than 60% of Gaza are now considered “not to travel” due to Israeli evacuation orders. Thousands of people live in the ruins of dirty tent camps or destroyed houses on the coastal coast.
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Defense Minister Katz called on Gaza residents to “discharge Hamas and return all hostages”, saying “this is the only way to end the war.”
Netanyahu said on Sunday that Israel plans to maintain overall security control in Gaza after the war and implement a proposal made by President Donald Trump to relocate it elsewhere through what Israeli leaders call “voluntary immigration.”
Palestinians rejected the plan, deemed expelled after Israel's offense made many unhabitable, and human rights experts say the implementation of the plan could violate international law.
Hamas said it will release only the remaining 59 hostages (those believed to be 24) in exchange for the release of more Palestinian prisoners, a lasting ceasefire and Israeli evacuation. The group refused to ask it to lay down its weapons or leave its territory.
The decision to resume the war has exacerbated protests in Israel, with many worried that it put hostages at serious risk and calling for a ceasefire and communicating with Hamas.
The Hostage Family Forum, which represents the majority of the captured families, said they were “shocked this morning to the Minister of Defense for an announcement of an expansion of military operations in Gaza.”
The group called on the Trump administration to receive honors for promoting a ceasefire, but supported Israel’s decision to end it in order to do everything possible to free the rest of the captives.
“Our highest priority must be an immediate agreement to bring all hostages home – a life of recovery and those who have been killed for proper burial and end this war,” the group said.
In addition to the 15 people killed in northern Gaza, Israeli air strikes killed another 28 people across the territory from Wednesday to Wednesday, according to local hospitals. The deceased included five women, one of whom was pregnant and two children, said Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis.
Israel said it targets militants only and does everything to avoid civilians, blaming Hamas for their deaths as militants operate in densely populated areas.
The war began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians and hijacking 251 hostages, most of which have been released in the ceasefire agreement and other transactions. Israel rescued eight living hostages and recovered dozens of bodies.
According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, the Israeli attack killed more than 50,000 Palestinians, which does not say whether those killed were civilians or combatants. Israel said it has killed about 20,000 militants and provided no evidence.
The war left the ruins of the vast area of Gaza with about 90% of the population.
Schraf reported from Jerusalem. Associated Press writer Elena Becatoros in Athens, Greece; Bassem mroue in Beirut; Sam Mednick of Tel Aviv, Israel contributed to the report.
& Copy 2025 Canadian Press
