Sawt Falasteen - Israel seizes key Gaza corridor, expanding offensive

The military also announced a sweeping evacuation order for tens of thousands of residents of Khan Yunis and surrounding areas in southern Gaza ahead of a planned strike after projectiles were fired from there.

The seizure of the "Morag axis" came as a Hamas official told AFP the group expected "real progress" towards a ceasefire deal to end the Gaza war, ahead of talks with Egyptian mediators in Cairo later Saturday.

"The IDF (military) has now completed its takeover of the Morag axis, which crosses Gaza between Rafah and Khan Yunis, turning the entire area between the Philadelphi Route (along the border with Egypt) and Morag into part of the Israeli security zone," Defence Minister Israel Katz said, addressing Gaza residents.

"Soon, IDF operations will intensify and expand to other areas throughout most of Gaza, and you will need to evacuate the combat zones.

"Now is the time to rise up, remove Hamas, and release all the Israeli hostages -- this is the only way to end the war."

Katz said the Israeli military was also taking over several areas in northern Gaza and the "security zone is being expanded, including in the Netzarim Corridor".

- Cairo talks -

Since a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas collapsed in mid-March, Israel's renewed offensive has displaced hundreds of thousands of people as the military has seized large areas of Gaza.

Israeli officials including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have repeatedly said the ongoing assault aims to pressure Hamas into freeing the remaining 58 hostages held in the territory.

Hamas said the offensive not only "kills defenceless civilians but also makes the fate of the occupation's prisoners (hostages) uncertain".

In a separate announcement, Israel ordered residents of Khan Yunis and surrounding areas to evacuate after the air force intercepted three projectiles fired from southern Gaza earlier Saturday.

"IDF troops are operating with significant force in the area, and will strike with intensity on any location from which rockets are launched," the military posted on X.

It added that several militants were killed in Gaza City as part of the ongoing assault.

The United Nations had warned Friday that expanding Israeli evacuation orders were resulting in the "forcible transfer" of people into ever-shrinking areas, raising "real concern as to the future viability of Palestinians as a group in Gaza".

A Hamas delegation and Egyptian mediators will meet later Saturday in Cairo.

"We hope the meeting will achieve real progress towards reaching an agreement to end the war, halt the aggression and ensure the full withdrawal of occupation forces from Gaza," a Hamas official familiar with the ceasefire negotiations said on condition of anonymity.

The official said Hamas has not yet received any new ceasefire proposals, despite Israeli media reports suggesting that Israel and Egypt had exchanged draft documents outlining a potential ceasefire and hostage release agreement.

"However, contacts and discussions with mediators are ongoing," he said.

- Strikes continue -

The Times of Israel reported that Egypt's proposal would involve the release of eight living hostages and eight bodies, in exchange for a truce lasting between 40 and 70 days and a substantial release of Palestinian prisoners.

US President Donald Trump's envoy to the region, Steve Witkoff, was quoted in an Israeli media report as saying "a very serious deal is taking shape, it's a matter of days".

Since Israel resumed its Gaza strikes, more than 1,500 people have been killed, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory to which Israel cut off aid more than a month ago.

The UN said that in many of these strikes "only women and children" were killed.

AFP footage of a strike's aftermath Saturday showed the shrouded bodies of four men at a hospital, as mourners offered prayers before their funeral.

The Gaza war broke out after Hamas's October 7, 2023, attack on Israel which resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.

Gaza's health ministry said Saturday at least 1,563 Palestinians had been killed since March 18 when the ceasefire collapsed, taking the overall death toll since the war began to 50,933.

Z.AlNajjar--SF-PST