Israel Encircles Rafah, Seizes Key Gaza Corridor in Final Push to Crush Hamas
by Emmitt Barry, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) – The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced Saturday it had captured the Morag Corridor in southern Gaza, completing the encirclement of Rafah and severing it from Khan Younis as part of its ongoing campaign to seize more territory and eliminate Hamas from the enclave.
Hundreds of thousands have fled Rafah as Israel expands its buffer zone, which will soon stretch over 5 kilometers from the Egyptian border to Khan Younis, covering all of Rafah and about 20% of Gaza. Elsewhere along the border, the zone has widened to roughly 2 kilometers.
“Over the past 24 hours, the 36th Division’s troops completed the establishment of the Morag route, separating Rafah and Khan Yunis,” the IDF said Saturday.
The IDF operation to seize the Morag Corridor began on April 2, targeting the area named after a former Israeli settlement once located between Rafah and Khan Younis in southern Gaza.
Following the IDF’s capture of the Morag Corridor, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz addressed Gaza residents, stating: “Hamas is unable to protect the residents or the territory. Hamas leaders are hiding in tunnels with their families and in luxury hotels abroad with billions in their bank accounts and are using you as hostages,”
“It is time to stand up and remove Hamas and release all the Israeli hostages. This is the only way to end the war,” he continued, adding, “those interested will also be able to voluntarily move to various countries around the world, in accordance with the vision of the US president, which we are working to carry out.”
Last week, Katz emphasized that the offensive’s goal of seizing the Morag Corridor is to “increase the pressure on Hamas for the sake of releasing the hostages” and to lay the groundwork for Israel’s strategy to “defeat Hamas.”
The IDF said it will now enter parts of Rafah it had not previously operated in to target remaining Hamas forces. Evacuation warnings were issued nearly two weeks ago.
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