The IDF has completed the encirclement of Gaza’s Rafah, the Israeli military said on Saturday, part of an announced plan to seize more areas of the Gaza Strip, accompanied by large-scale evacuations of the population.
The IDF has issued repeated evacuation warnings to hundreds of thousands of Palestinians across Rafah since it resumed operations in Gaza on March 18, forcing them into a diminishing space limited by the sea.
Israel said on April 2 that troops had begun seizing an area it called the Morag Corridor, a reference to a former Israeli settlement once located between the cities of Rafah and Khan Yunis in southern Gaza.
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have since fled Rafah, a 60 square km area that borders Egypt to the south.
“Over the past 24 hours, the 36th Division’s troops completed the establishment of the Morag route, separating Rafah and Khan Yunis,” the military said on Saturday.
Following the IDF’s takeover of the Morag Corridor, Defense Minister Israel Katz addressed Gaza residents, stating: “This is the final opportunity to dismantle Hamas, release all the hostages, and bring the war to an end.”
“The IDF will soon intensify its operations across most of Gaza. Those who are interested will also be able to voluntarily move to various countries in the world in accordance with the vision of the US President, which we are working on,” he added.
Bring them back home
The Israeli offensive in Gaza was launched after Palestinian militant group Hamas attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostage, according to Israeli tallies.
Israel restarted the offensive in March after effectively abandoning a ceasefire in place since January. The campaign will continue, it says, until the remaining 59 hostages are freed and Hamas is stamped out of Gaza.
Hamas says it will free hostages only as part of a deal that will end the war and has rejected demands to lay down its arms. A Hamas delegation was expected in Cairo over the weekend to discuss new truce proposals, according to a source in the terror group.
Jesus Christ is King
