Israel Establishes New Security Corridor Across Gaza

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Wednesday that Israel is establishing a new security corridor across Gaza as the country said it planned to seize large areas of the Palestinian territory and launched a wave of strikes that Palestinian health officials said killed more than 40 people.

In a statement, Netanyahu described the new corridor as the Morag corridor, using the name of a Jewish settlement that once stood between Rafah and Khan Younis, suggesting it would run between the two southern cities.

Israel has vowed to escalate the nearly 18-month war with Hamas until the militant group returns dozens of remaining hostages, disarms and leaves the territory. Israel ended a ceasefire in March and has imposed a monthlong halt to all imports of food, fuel and humanitarian aid.

“We are increasing the pressure step by step, so that they will give us our hostages. And the more they do not give, the more the pressure will increase until they do,” Netanyahu said.

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Escalation of the War

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a statement that the offensive is now aimed at “seizing large areas that will be added to the security zones,” without elaborating. Israel controls a buffer zone along Gaza’s entire border and recently ordered the full evacuation of the southern city of Rafah.

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Israeli airstrikes kill at least 23 across Gaza Strip as relatives mourn their loss

In northern Gaza, an Israeli airstrike hit a U.N. building in the built-up Jabaliya refugee camp, killing 15 people, including nine children and two women, according to the Indonesian Hospital. The Israeli military said it struck Hamas militants in a command and control center.

The building, previously a clinic, had been converted into a shelter for displaced people, with more than 700 residing there, according to Juliette Touma, a spokesperson for the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, the main aid provider in Gaza. No U.N. staff were wounded in the strike.

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U.N. Response

U.N. says most of Gaza is a ‘no-go’ zone

More than 60% of Gaza is now considered a “no-go” zone because of Israeli evacuation orders, according to Olga Cherevko, a spokesperson for the U.N. humanitarian aid office. Hundreds of thousands people are living in squalid tent camps along the coast or in the ruins of their destroyed homes.

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Israel’s Plans for Gaza

Katz, the defense minister, called on Gaza residents to “expel Hamas and return all the hostages,” saying “this is the only way to end the war.”

On Sunday, Netanyahu said Israel plans to maintain overall security control of Gaza after the war and implement President Donald Trump’s proposal to resettle much of its population elsewhere through what the Israeli leader referred to as “voluntary emigration.”

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Gazans observe Eid amid war, loss, and ongoing ceasefire negotiations

Palestinians have rejected the plan, viewing it as expulsion from their homeland after Israel’s offensive left much of it uninhabitable, and human rights experts say implementing the plan would likely violate international law.

Hamas has said it will only release the remaining 59 hostages — 24 of whom are believed to be alive — in exchange for the release of more Palestinian prisoners, a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli pullout. The group has rejected demands that it lay down its arms or leave the territory.

Protests and Reactions

The decision to resume the war has fueled protests in Israel, where many fear it has put the hostages at grave risk and are calling for another ceasefire and exchange with Hamas.

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The Hostage Families Forum, which represents most captives’ families, said they were “horrified to wake up this morning to the Defense Minister’s announcement about expanding military operations in Gaza.”

The group called on the Trump administration, which took credit for brokering the ceasefire but has supported Israel’s decision to end it, to do everything possible to free the remaining captives.

“Our highest priority must be an immediate deal to bring ALL hostages back home — the living for rehabilitation and those killed for proper burial — and end this war,” the group said.