Israel takes control of Rafah, creating new ‘security corridor’ in Gaza

Israel announced Saturday that its military has completed the establishment of a new security corridor in the Gaza Strip, effectively taking full control over the southern city of Rafah — which Israel had ordered evacuated — and cutting it off from the rest of the Palestinian territory.

“The IDF has now completed the takeover of the Morag axis that crosses Gaza between Rafah and Khan Yunis and makes the entire area between the Philadelphi axis and Morag part of the Israeli security zone,” Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a statement. “IDF activity will soon expand strongly to additional locations throughout most of Gaza and you will have to evacuate the fighting zones.”

Over 1,500 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Israel ended the ceasefire on March 18. In total, nearly 51,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023.

Earlier this month, the Israel Defense Forces issued evacuation orders for large swaths of war-torn Gaza, including parts of Khan Yunis and almost all of Rafah.

The IDF has been expanding its operations in Gaza since it ended the ceasefire in March, earlier this month saying it will capture extensive territories. On April 2, Katz said they will “seize large areas that will be annexed to the security zones of the State of Israel.”

Earlier this month, the Israel Defense Forces issued evacuation orders for large swaths of war-torn Gaza, including parts of Khan Yunis and almost all of Rafah.

This came as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the establishment of the so-called Morag Corridor, describing it as “a second Philadelphi Corridor” that would further divide Gaza and increase pressure on Hamas to release the remaining Israeli hostages.

The so-called Philadelphi Corridor refers to a narrow strip of land along Gaza’s border with Egypt that has been under Israeli control since May 2024.

The IDF said Israeli troops were operating in some areas between Rafah and Khan Yunis where they had never operated previously and that the strategy behind establishing the new security corridor was to separate Hamas fighters in Rafah from Khan Yunis, spokesperson Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani said at a press briefing last week.

The IDF said on Saturday that it had “eliminated dozens of terrorists, dismantled underground tunnel routes and Hamas terror infrastructure, and completed the encirclement of Rafah,” in the last week and a half.

In an address to Palestinians in Gaza following the completion of the Morag axis, Katz said the IDF is already continuing to expand its territory in Gaza.

“This is the last moment to remove Hamas and release all the hostages and bring about an end to the war – IDF activity will soon expand vigorously to additional locations throughout most of Gaza,” he said.

“In northern Gaza, residents are also evacuating in Beit Hanoun and other neighborhoods and the area is being taken, expanding the security zone and in the Netzarim Corridor. IDF activity will soon expand strongly to additional locations throughout most of Gaza and you will have to evacuate the fighting zones,” Katz said.

Last week, the IDF said at a press briefing that the only thing that can halt the IDF’s advance in Gaza is the release of hostages.

Katz reiterated support for U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposal to forcibly expel Palestinians in Gaza and said they are working toward making it possible for Palestinians in Gaza to “voluntarily move to various countries around the world.”

In February, Trump departed from decades of U.S. foreign policy, announcing that the U.S. would “clean out” the Gaza Strip and rebuild it, saying Palestinians living there should leave — a statement that the United Nations and allies, including France and Germany, have called a violation of international law and said it amounts to ethnic cleansing.

Trump at one point threatened to withdraw aid to Egypt and Jordan if they didn’t agree to take in Palestinians, though less than 24 hours later, he said, “I don’t have to threaten that, I don’t think. I think we’re above that.”

Egypt and Jordan have both firmly opposed taking in forcibly displaced Palestinians.