The Israel Defense Forces entered a new phase of the ground offensive in Gaza this week, pressuring Hamas to release the 59 hostages still in captivity.
The IDF is trying to establish the “Morag Corridor” to cut off Rafah from Khan Younis. This would help the IDF surround Rafah, which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the move is an effort to increase pressure on Hamas “step by step.”
“We are now cutting off the Strip and we are increasing the pressure step by step… so they will give us our hostages,” Netanyahu said. “The longer they refuse to give them up, the more the pressure will increase until they do.”
The Morag Corridor is located where the Israeli settlement, Morag, stood before being forcibly evacuated during Israel’s 2005 withdrawal from Gaza.
The strategy is in line with other sectioning efforts by the IDF including controlling the Philadelphia…
