Israeli military cuts off large section of Gaza territory as part of so-called ‘Morag Corridor'
In a video message, the Israeli prime minister announced that his military would be claiming the “Morag Corridor” – a so-called corridor. It is basically a line that has been drawn between Rafah and Khan Younis to its north. This is an area of the Gaza Strip that the Israeli army now completely controls and has not allowed Palestinian civilians in.
It cuts the Gaza Strip off from the Karem Abu Salem commercial border crossing, or what is known in Israel as Kerem Shalom, dashing any hope that humanitarian assistance could soon be allowed back after an entire month of blockade with no food, water or aid allowed into Gaza.
This is quite a dramatic announcement. But it does follow a similar one from the Israeli minister of defence, who said Israel’s goal in 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.
The minister of defence called on the population to remove Hamas and hand over the captives. An impossible demand, of course, but one that many Palestinians fear will translate into even more dramatic actions in the days to come.
Israeli attack helicopters, jet fighters pound Gaza City in predawn strikes
Local media in Gaza report that Israeli attack helicopters are firing on Gaza City, including the Yarmouk Stadium – a football arena that has been used as a refuge by hundreds of Palestinians who were forcibly displaced from towns further to the north of the Strip.
A huge explosion has also been reported east of Gaza City following an attack by Israeli jet fighters. The attacks follow after reports that Israeli military helicopters were carrying out intense low-altitude flights over western parts of the city.
Air strikes were also reported recently on the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, and strikes are continuing to target the Khan Younis area in the south. Earlier at least one person was killed in an attack on displaced people sheltering in tents in a town to the east of Khan Younis.
At least 9 killed following Israeli strike in Gaza City
The death toll from an Israeli air strike in Gaza City’s Shujayea neighbourhood in the north of the Palestinian enclave has risen to nine, our colleagues are reporting. Earlier, we reported that 15 others were injured in the attack, which targeted the al-Jundia family.
In total, overnight Israeli attacks across Gaza have killed at least 24 Palestinians, according to Al Jazeera Arabic.
People at the site of an Israeli attack on a tent camp for forcibly displaced people in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, in the early hours of April 3
Israeli army issues new displacement order for residents in Gaza
A spokesperson from the Israeli army has ordered residents of the Shujayea area and the neighborhouds of Al-Jadida, Al-Turkman, Tasbeeh and eastern Zeitoun to leave their homes.
The Israeli army “is operating with great force in your areas to destroy the terrorist infrastructure,” Avichay Adraee said on X. “You must evacuate these areas immediately and move to the known shelters in western Gaza City,” he added.
It is not clear what the “known shelters” are. During past forced evacuation orders, Adraee called on Palestinians to move to shelters in areas designated as “safe zones,” but these were later attacked by the Israeli army.
Sixty-Two Palestinians killed in Gaza since dawn
Medical sources have told Al Jazeera that 62 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip today since dawn. Thirty-seven of those killings occurred in Gaza City, in the central Gaza Strip.
Gaza death toll since Israel resumed strikes tops 1,100
At least 1,163 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel resumed large-scale strikes on March 18.
According to the Health Ministry, the figure includes 97 people killed in the past 24 hours, saying that three additional bodies, killed in earlier strikes, had been recovered in that time period. It also reported that the overall death toll had reached 50,523 since the war began on October 7, 2023.
