Israel stations forces at new ‘Morag’ corridor in south Gaza, trapping civilians in Rafah

Eyewitnesses in the Gaza Strip told Mada Masr that the invading Israeli military deployed reinforcements over recent days to a new position that allows it to isolate Rafah from the rest of the coastal enclave — an area that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dubbed the Morag Corridor in a Wednesday night statement.

The reinforcements allow the military to control the road joining Gaza’s southernmost city to Khan Younis further north, adding to the handful of sites in the strip from which the military restricts the movement of Palestinians.

Though the Occupation ordered tens of thousands out of Rafah over the past two weeks, dozens of families are still stuck in their homes, terrified to leave amid the invasion. 

Abu Yehia, one of those trapped, said his family is among dozens now isolated from the neighboring governorate of Khan Younis, lacking basic necessities such as food and water — already scarce in Gaza after over a month under total aid blockade.

Eyewitnesses displaced to Khan Younis described seeing a build-up of Israeli military reinforcements along the Morag line —  known among locals as the Muharrarat route or Miraj Street. The area was called Morag during the period from 1967 until 2005 during which Israel maintained settlements in the Gaza Strip.

Abu Nader fled Rafah last week, as Israel issued evacuation orders and launched a sweeping ground invasion during the Eid holiday.

He said he saw large concentrations of Israeli tanks and military vehicles, as well as ongoing roadwork along the Muharrarat route he took to escape the oncoming invasion. There were dozens of tanks, Abu Nader said, and barbed wire was set up over long stretches near the checkpoint established on the road.

In the broadcast he shared on Wednesday night on his social media, Netanyahu described the territorial expansion as “shifting gears.”

Samir Arafa, also displaced to Khan Younis over recent days, told Mada Masr that Israeli tanks could be seen positioned from northern Rafah all the way to the beach in Khan Younis.

Those still trapped in Rafah were shocked to hear that they are now separated from the rest of the Gaza Strip, Abu Yehia told Mada Masr, stressing that the development leaves their fate unknown.

Rafah Mayor Ahmed al-Soufy told Mada Masr that Israel’s occupation of Rafah is, “quite literally,” an act of ethnic cleansing. The city was nearly entirely destroyed during last year’s invasion, he said, questioning why the Israeli military insists on occupying the land even after devastating it.

He added that the new axis the Israeli military announced it will occupy signals its intention to exert full control over Rafah, completely cutting it off from the strip.

The development is “a major disaster” said Soufy, especially since thousands of civilians remain trapped in the city.

Arafa is now living with his family in Mawasi, Khan Younis, a coastal region still relatively close to Rafah. He said that Israeli shelling has intensified since Tuesday, targeting northern Rafah in particular, with massive-sounding explosions that he guessed could correspond to houses and buildings being demolished.

Netanyahu also stated on Wednesday night that Israel’s military would now be conducting territorial grabs and destroying infrastructure as part of its change in tactics. He also referred to the newly occupied site isolating Rafah as a “second Philadelphi Corridor.”

It has been almost a year since Israel invaded the Philadelphi Corridor, located on the border between Egypt and Gaza.

The invasion saw Occupation forces seize the border facility to control passage in and out of the strip and tear through Rafah’s infrastructure at the same time.

During the 50 days of the ceasefire, Israel kept its troops stationed in the southern corridor and in parts of the Netsarim Corridor in north central Gaza, separating northern cities from the rest of the strip.

The Occupation government evaded negotiations on the deal’s second phase, which was due to establish terms for its military’s permanent withdrawal from the corridors.

During its invasion of Rafah over the past two weeks, Israeli forces enacted indiscriminate killing, erecting a checkpoint through which hundreds of thousands of the displaced were forced to pass and where many were subject to abduction or even executed, eyewitnesses said.

Among those killed were eight medics working for the Red Crescent, whose bodies were found several days after they went missing while working to respond to those wounded in the city, the agency said on Sunday.