Israeli forces have begun deploying troops to establish the so-called "Morag Corridor" in southern Gaza, a move Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on April 2, 2025, as part of a renewed offensive against the besieged enclave.
This latest security zone, named after an illegal Israeli settlement dismantled in 2005, stretches across agricultural land between Khan Younis and Rafah, aiming to sever Rafah—Gaza’s southernmost city—from the rest of the Strip. The deployment, confirmed by the Israeli military on April 6 with the 36th Division now active in the area, signals a deepening of Israel’s strategy to fragment Gaza and displace its Palestinian population.
Netanyahu has framed the corridor as a tool to "cut up the strip" and pressure Hamas into releasing Israeli hostages taken during the October 7th attack. Yet, the move suggests a broader agenda. This "Morag axis" includes areas previously designated as a "humanitarian zone" by Israel, where displaced Palestinians were instructed to seek safety.
Now, these same lands are being militarized, forcing yet another wave of exodus as troops fire on anyone approaching the zone, according to Al Jazeera’s Hind Khoudary reporting from Deir el-Balah. The only remaining escape route for Palestinians is the dangerous al-Rashid coastal road.
This is not Israel’s first attempt to carve up Gaza. The Morag Corridor joins the Philadelphi Corridor—seized along the Egyptian border in May 2024—and the Netzarim Corridor, which isolates northern Gaza, including Gaza City.
Together, these axes tighten Israel’s chokehold, echoing the "Generals’ Plan" to expel Palestinians from the north before the January 2025 ceasefire, which Israel shattered last month with a surprise bombardment. Since then, over 1,000 Palestinians have been killed in Rafah alone, adding to a death toll surpassing 50,400 since October 2023.
Critics see this as ethnic cleansing in slow motion. Israeli Channel 12 suggest the division aligns with a U.S.-backed proposal under President Donald Trump to "remove" Palestinians from Gaza. As troops encircle Rafah, a lifeline for aid via the Karem Abu Salem crossing, Palestinians face an intensifying nightmare of displacement and death under Israel’s relentless grip.