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BREAKING
Saba News Agency: Two martyred, five injured in a preliminary toll of the Israeli aggression on the Yemeni Oil Company station on Al-Sitteen Street in Sanaa
Senior Yemeni military source to Al Mayadeen: We observed a state of confusion among the enemy's aircraft squadron after Yemeni air defenses intercepted the attack
Senior Yemeni military source to Al Mayadeen: The Yemeni air defense forces succeeded in neutralizing a squadron of enemy aircraft and prevented airstrikes on some governorates
Senior Yemeni military source to Al Mayadeen: Our air defenses and missile forces forced a formation of enemy aircraft to flee the airspace
Member of the Ansar Allah Political Bureau, Mohammed al-Bukhaiti: The Israeli aggression on Yemen will not deter us from continuing to support Gaza, no matter the sacrifices
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: The Israeli aggression targeted the Yemeni Oil Company station on Al-Sitteen Street, southwest of the capital, Sanaa, with several raids
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: The Israeli aggression has once again targeted the Haziz Central Power Station in the Sanhan District, south of Sanaa
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: One Israeli airstrike targeted the Asr area, west of the Yemeni capital, Sanaa
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: The Israeli aggression targeted an oil derivatives storage house in the southwestern part of Sanaa
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in Sanaa: Three airstrikes targeted the southwestern side of the Yemeni capital

Netanyahu says IOF taking control of Morag Axis, dividing Gaza

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 2 Apr 2025 22:13
4 Min Read

The Israeli PM says the Israeli military is now dividing the Gaza Strip and increasing pressure to force Hamas to release the remaining Israeli captives.

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  • NetanyahuThis aerial view shows a war-devastated neighbourhood in the Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip on April 2, 2025 (AFP) 

"Israel" announced a significant expansion of military operations in Gaza on Wednesday, declaring plans to seize extensive areas of the Palestinian enclave and incorporate them into its "security zones", alongside mass expulsion of the Palestinian population.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that Israeli forces were taking control of what he called the Morag Axis, referring to a former Israeli settlement situated between Rafah and Khan Younis in southern Gaza.

"Because we are now dividing the Strip and we are increasing pressure step by step so they will give us our hostages," he said in a video message.

The move, which isolates Rafah from Khan Younis, grants "Israel" control over a second corridor in southern Gaza, in addition to the Philadelphi Corridor along the Egyptian border.

Netanyahu has prioritized maintaining Israeli control over the Philadelphi Corridor in ceasefire negotiations, claiming that an Israeli withdrawal would enable weapons smuggling into Gaza.

However, as part of the January ceasefire deal, he agreed to a full withdrawal of Israeli troops from the corridor by the 50th day of the agreement—a clause "Israel" has since violated. Instead, Israeli forces not only remain in the corridor but have also expanded their presence.

Israeli military expanding operations, seizing large territories in Gaza

Earlier on Wednesday, Security Minister Israel Katz declared that Israeli forces were expanding operations to eliminate Palestinian Resistance fighters and infrastructure while seizing large territories to be integrated into "Israel’s" security zones.

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The military had already issued evacuation orders for parts of southern Gaza, and Palestinian media reported that Rafah’s vicinity was nearly deserted following the directives.

According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, at least 60 people were killed in Israeli strikes on Wednesday, including 19—among them children—who were martyred in a strike on a UN clinic sheltering displaced civilians.

The Israeli military claimed the targeted building had been repurposed as a Hamas command and control center, while Hamas denied the allegations, calling them a "blatant fabrication".

Katz’s statement did not specify how much land "Israel" intended to seize or whether the move signaled a permanent occupation, raising concerns about further displacement in Gaza, already one of the most densely populated areas in the world.

Palestinians fear permanent displacement and full-scale Israeli military control over substantial parts of the territory. The Israeli rights group Gisha reported that even before this operation, "Israel" had taken control of approximately 62 square kilometers—around 17% of Gaza’s total area—as part of an expanding "buffer zone".

Israeli officials have indicated their intention to facilitate the "voluntary departure" of Palestinians from Gaza, following calls by US President Donald Trump for the enclave to be permanently evacuated and redeveloped as a coastal resort under US administration.

"Israel" resumed airstrikes and ground operations in Gaza last month after two months of relative calm that followed a US-brokered truce, during which captives held by the Palestinian Resistance were exchanged for Palestinian prisoners and detainees in Israeli occupation prisons.

More than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed since the war resumed, while "Israel" has blocked aid shipments to Gaza, citing concerns that supplies were being diverted to Hamas.

Mediation efforts by Qatar and Egypt to revive ceasefire talks have stalled, while "Israel’s" renewed aggression has triggered protests by families of captives demanding that the government prioritize their release.

The Israeli war has since killed over 50,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, devastating the enclave and displacing nearly its entire 2.3 million population.

Read more: 'Israel' killed 322 Gaza children in 10 days amid shattered ceasefire

  • Gaza Strip
  • Palestine
  • Israeli aggression
  • IOF
  • Israel
  • Benjamin Netanyahu
  • Israeli occupation
  • Hamas
  • Gaza

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