Israeli defense minister threatens to further shrink, isolate Gaza
Israel Katz says Israeli military advances will continue to pressure Hamas as more areas in Gaza become security zones under Israeli control
JERUSALEM
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz threatened Sunday to further shrink and isolate Gaza as military operations intensify in the coastal enclave.
“Gaza will become smaller and more isolated, and more and more of its residents will be forced to evacuate from the fighting zones,” Katz said in a post on his X account
He said that during the Jewish Passover holiday, the Israeli military took control of the Morag axis—a 12-kilometer (7.45-mile) corridor stretching east to west across Gaza that separates the cities of Khan Younis and Rafah.
The area between the Philadelphi Corridor and Morag has now been turned into “part of the Israeli security zone,” he said.
Katz said Israel has also expanded the buffer zone in northern Gaza, displacing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians and converting part of the territory into Israeli security zones.
He said the moves are part of a broader strategy aimed at pressuring the Palestinian group Hamas into accepting a deal to release hostages.
He added that the Israeli military would continue escalating operations for as long as Hamas refuses Israel’s conditions “while continuing to thwart its operatives and destroy its infrastructure.”
In recent days, the Israeli army has issued forced evacuation orders for areas in Beit Lahia, Beit Hanoun and Jabalia in northern Gaza as well as for the entire city of Rafah and parts of Khan Younis.
On Saturday, the Israeli military said it completed the encirclement of Rafah and established the Morag axis separating it from Khan Younis.
The Israeli army renewed its assault on Gaza on March 18, shattering a Jan. 19 ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement.
More than 50,900 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza in a brutal Israeli onslaught since October 2023, most of them women and children.
The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
