By using this site, you agree to our Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use. Close
SvennoJ on 02 April 2025
Edit Thread

Israeli military says it is ‘expanding’ Gaza operation

Israeli army chief Eyal Zamir says the Israeli army is “expanding” its attacks in Gaza without providing further details.

“The only thing that can stop us from continuing to advance is the release of our hostages,” Zamir said in a statement.

All Israeli captives in Gaza would have been released in the second stage of the ceasefire agreement, but Israel unilaterally broke the ceasefire and resumed the war after the end of the first phase.


Israel creating second Philadelphi Corridor in Gaza, says Netanyahu

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has fleshed out his defence minister’s comments earlier on Wednesday that Israel would seize more land in Gaza.

“Tonight, we have shifted gears in the Gaza Strip,” Netanyahu said in a video released on Wednesday evening. “The Israeli army is seizing territory, hitting the terrorists and destroying the infrastructure. And we are also doing another thing – seizing the ‘Morag Route’. This will be the second Philadelphi Route, another Philadelphi Route.”

The “Morag Route” – a reference to a former illegal Israeli settlement in Gaza – would separate Rafah from Khan Younis in southern Gaza.


Israel’s ‘Morag’ announcement part of ‘maximum pressure’ policy

The so-called Morag corridor is basically a line that has been drawn between Rafah and Khan Younis to the north of it. This is an area of the Gaza Strip that Israel now completely controls, and has not allowed Palestinian civilians in.

It dissects the Gaza Strip from the Karem Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) commercial crossing, dashing any hope that humanitarian assistance could soon be allowed back after an entire month of blockade.

This is quite a dramatic announcement, but it does follow a similar one from the Israeli minister of defence, who said that Israel’s goal from this expanded military assault on Gaza would be to claim more Palestinian territory in order to exact maximum pressure – not just on Hamas, but on the population in Gaza.


Israeli ceasefire counter-offer insisted on Hamas disarmament: Sources

Our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic have seen a copy of a ceasefire deal proposed by mediating countries at the end of March.

Sources told Al Jazeera Arabic that Hamas had agreed to the deal, but that Israel had rejected it and instead proposed a counter-offer.

The proposal called for Hamas to release five captives, including the Israeli-American Edan Alexander, within 50 days, in exchange for 250 Palestinian prisoners, including 150 serving life sentences, as well as 2,000 detainees from Gaza.

The proposal also would have seen immediate negotiations on a permanent ceasefire and a full Israeli withdrawal.

However, the Israeli counter-offer proposed that Alexander be released before the beginning of the agreement as a goodwill gesture, with no Palestinians released in return. Israel also requested that 10 captives be released on the first day of a 40-day truce, in exchange for 120 Palestinians sentenced to life, and 1,111 Palestinian detainees from Gaza.

Israel also refused to withdraw from Gaza and insisted on Hamas’s disarmament as a condition for negotiations.

Al Jazeera Arabic’s Tamer Mishal said that the Israeli counter-offer appeared to be an attempt by Israel to incite internal strife in Gaza and anger towards Hamas.


Israeli attacks in Gaza have killed 77 Palestinians since dawn on Wednesday, medical sources tell Al Jazeera.