October 2, 2026
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that Israel is establishing a new security corridor across the Gaza Strip to pressure the terror group Hamas, suggesting it would cut off the southern city of Rafah, which Israel has ordered evacuated, from the rest of the Palestinian territory.
The announcement came after Netanyahu's defense minister said that Israel would seize large areas of Gaza and add them to its security zones.
Israel has vowed to escalate the nearly 18-month war with Hamas until the terrorist group returns dozens of remaining hostages, disarms, and leaves the territory.
Netanyahu described the new axis as the Morag corridor, using the name of a Jewish settlement that once stood between Rafah and Khan Younis, suggesting it would run between the two southern cities. He said it would be "a second Philadelphi corridor " referring to the Gaza side of the border with Egypt further south, which has been under Israeli control since last May.
Israel has reasserted control over the Netzarim corridor, also named for a former settlement, that cuts off the northern third of Gaza, including Gaza City, from the rest of the narrow coastal strip. Both of the existing corridors run from the Israeli border to the Mediterranean Sea.
“We are cutting up the strip, and we are increasing the pressure step by step, so that they will give us our hostages,” Netanyahu said.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz had earlier said Israel would seize “large areas” and add them to its security zones, apparently referring to an existing buffer zone along Gaza's entire perimeter. He called on Gaza residents to “expel Hamas and return all the hostages,” saying “this is the only way to end the war.”
On Sunday, Netanyahu said Israel plans to maintain overall security control of Gaza after the war and implement President Donald Trump's proposal to resettle much of its population elsewhere through what the Israeli leader referred to as “voluntary emigration.”
Hamas has said it will only release the remaining 59 hostages — 24 of whom are believed to be alive — in exchange for the release of more Palestinian prisoners, a lasting ceasefire, and an Israeli pullout. The terror group often uses hostages as bargaining chips in negotiations.
The war began when Hamas-led terrorists attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251 hostages, most of whom have since been released in ceasefire agreements and other deals. Israel rescued eight living hostages and has recovered dozens of bodies.
Israel’s offensive has killed more than 50,000 Palestinians, according to claims by the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry. Israel says it has killed around 20,000 terrorists.
Israel says it targets only terrorists and makes every effort to spare civilians, blaming Hamas for their deaths because the terrorists operate in densely populated areas.
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