Click to see full-size image. (The Israeli Defense Forces)
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) announced on April 12 that it had captured the so-called Morag Corridor in the southern Gaza Strip.
The bold push completely isolated the area of Rafah, which lies along Gaza’s border with Egypt, from the city of Khan Younis.
The Morag Corridor is now occupied by the IDF’s 36th Division. Meanwhile, the Gaza Division is operating in the Philadelphi Corridor, directly on the border with Egypt.
The 36th Division’s 188th Armored Brigade had pushed into the Morag Corridor from the northwest, while the division’s Golani Infantry Brigade entered from the border in the southeast. Overnight, the two units joined up. Engineering forces are now constructing a road there.
The IDF said in a brief statement that it has eliminated dozens of Palestinian fighters and destroyed Hamas infrastructure, including tunnels, while operating in the corridor over the past week and a half.
Following the Israeli announcement, three rockets were launched from Gaza towards the nearby settlement of Nir Yitzhak. The IDF said that all the projectiles were intercepted by its air defenses. The al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, quickly claimed responsibility.
Commenting on the IDF’s advance in southern Gaza, Defense Minister Israel Katz called on Palestinians to “remove Hamas and release all the hostages” before the military expands its operations in the Strip.
“This is the final moment to remove Hamas and release the hostages and bring about an end to the war,” Katz said in a statement.
“The IDF has now completed the capture of the Morag Corridor that divides Gaza between Rafah and Khan Younis, and makes the entire area between the Philadelphi Corridor and Morag part of the Israeli security zone,” the minister added, referring to the IDF’s buffer zone on the Gaza border.
“In northern Gaza, residents are also evacuating in Beit Hanoun and other neighborhoods and territory is being taken, expanding the security zone, and also in the Netzarim Corridor,” he elaborated
“Intensive IDF activity will soon expand to additional places in most of Gaza, and you will have to evacuate the combat zones,” he warned.
“Hamas is unable to protect the residents or the territory. Hamas leaders are hiding in tunnels with their families, and in luxury hotels abroad with billions in their bank accounts and are using you as hostages,” Katz said.
“It is time to stand up and remove Hamas and release all the Israeli hostages. This is the only way to end the war,” he continued.
The minister added that “those interested will also be able to voluntarily move to various countries around the world, in accordance with the vision of the US president, which we are working to carry out.”
Later on, the IDF issued an evacuation warning for remaining Palestinians in Khan Younis in response to the rocket attack. .
In a post on the X social network, the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesman, Colonel Avichay Adraee, publishes a map of the area that is to be evacuated, saying that it is a “final warning” before the military carries out strikes there.
In a follow up statement, the IDF confirmed that it had expanded its operations against Hamas in the northern Gaza Strip, with troops pushing into the Gaza City neighborhoods of Daraj and Tuffah.
The military said that the operation is intended to expand the buffer zone along the Gaza border. In most areas, the IDF has been expanding the buffer zone up to around two kilometers deep into the Strip.
Click to see full-size image. (The Israeli Defense Forces)
Click to see full-size image. (The Israeli Defense Forces)
Click to see full-size image. (The Israeli Defense Forces)
Click to see full-size image. (The Israeli Defense Forces)
The Hamas-run health ministry said that Israeli operations in Gaza claimed the lives of at least 24 people in the last 24 hours.
More than 1,500 Palestinians have been killed since the IDF renewed its operations in Gaza on March 18, shattering a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement that was brokered by the United States, Egypt and Qatar last January. In total, the Israeli war on the Strip has so far claimed the lives of more than 50,900.
Despite the escalation by Israel, a Hamas official told the AFP on January 12 that senior leaders from the group were heading to Cairo later in the day for Gaza hostage-ceasefire talks with Egyptian mediators.
“We hope the meeting will achieve real progress toward reaching an agreement to end the war, halt the aggression, and ensure the full withdrawal of occupation forces from Gaza,” the official familiar with the ceasefire negotiations said.
The IDF has occupied key parts of Gaza since resuming its operations there without facing any real resistance. As a result, Israel has upped its demands for a new ceasefire time after time. Hamas, one the other hand, is facing increasing internal pressure and will likely make serious concessions to bring Israeli operations to a halt.
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the khazar mafia guns against civilians campaign is a success. just like israel sending suitcases of cash to hamas got rid of the plo . create a false enemy , justify genocide , refuse peace , blame the innocent , starve a population , kill children all in the open air prison . west bank refugee camps camps recieve the same