Photo: gov.il
Israel is preparing for a new stage of fighting in the Gaza Strip. On Saturday, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz officially announced that the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) would soon expand operations to all areas of the enclave and called on local residents to evacuate.
This was reported by Ynet.
According to Katz, Israel is actively working to create conditions for Gazans to leave for other countries, in accordance with a plan previously proposed by US President Donald Trump.
South Gaza is fully under Israeli control
The minister confirmed that Israeli forces have completed the deployment of forces along the Morag corridor and have taken full control of southern Gaza, including the Rafah area. This region is effectively cut off from the rest of the Gaza Strip.
“The entire area from the Philadelphia corridor to the Morag corridor will be added to the security buffer zone,” Katz said.
New stage of hostilities and warnings for civilians
The Minister of Defence warned that the Israeli army would continue to advance into other areas of Gaza, and that the fighting would inevitably lead to more civilian evacuations.
“Now we will act in other parts of Gaza,” Katz said, hinting at an expansion of the active military operations.
Context.
The proposal for the voluntary emigration of Gazans is being actively discussed in Israeli politics and international circles. The idea involves the resettlement of a part of the population of the Gaza Strip to third countries, subject to the consent of the governments of these countries.
Israel has been continuing its campaign to dismantle Hamas’ infrastructure in Gaza since the start of the war in October 2023. Control over the southern areas of the enclave creates new opportunities to increase military and political pressure on the militants.
