Politics

The latest ‘corridor’ helps the Israeli military fragment Gaza

A new axis dividing Khan Younis into eastern and western sections follows others splitting Khan Younis from Rafah, and north Gaza from central Gaza. The strategy is simple: divide and conquer.

Jack Guez / AFP

An Israeli battle tank deployed at a position along the border with the Gaza Strip and southern Israel on July 29, 2025.

The latest ‘corridor’ helps the Israeli military fragment Gaza

Salem Al Rayyes

last update on 30 Jul 2025

In the second week of July, Hamas announced its rejection of Israeli withdrawal maps proposed in ceasefire and prisoner-exchange negotiations by the United States, Qatar and Egypt. The group’s objection centred on the Israeli army’s continued seizure of more than 40% of the Gaza Strip. Its demand is that Israel withdraws to the positions outlined in the map agreed upon in January.

The Israeli army is advancing efforts to establish a new ‘corridor’ dividing Khan Yunis into eastern and western sectors. On 16 July, it declared the completion of the 15km ‘Magen Oz axis’. This route begins at the Kissufim crossing point on the eastern boundary between Deir al-Balah and Khan Yunis, cuts through Khan Yunis, and extends to the ‘Murāj axis’ (built in April), which already splits Khan Yunis and Rafah and has remained under full Israeli control.

The Magen Oz axis remains a major sticking point, because Hamas rejects the presence of Israeli forces, as expressed in discussions facilitated by US envoy Steve Witkoff. Hamas leader Dr Basem Naim dismissed the significance of the new axis, noting that Israel already has full control over the Strip.

Carving a wasteland

The broader concern lies in the sweeping geopolitical and demographic changes enforced by the Israeli army, which primarily affect civilians. These include forced displacement, the prevention of civilians’ return, and widespread destruction, from the systematic razing of residential areas, the demolition of homes and farmland, the obliteration of infrastructure such as roads, electricity stations, and communication networks.

Jack Guez / AFP — Destroyed buildings are pictured in the Gaza Strip as seen from a position along the border in southern Israel on July 29, 2025.

Entire regions are now uninhabitable wastelands. The effects in Khan Younis mirror those in Rafah, Jabalia, Bayt Lahia, Bayt Hanoun, and the eastern districts of Gaza City. Prior to October 2023, Khan Yunis spanned 54 square kilometres and was home to around 438,000 residents, more than half of whom lived in residential clusters located in the city centre and eastern districts. Those areas now come under Israeli control following the latest separation operation.

The army has forced displacement, prevented civilians' return, and destroyed homes, farmland, roads, electricity stations, and communication networks

The Israeli army has annexed several towns to the east of Khan Yunis—including al-Fukhari, Abasan al-Kabira, Abasan al-Jadida, Khuza'a, al-Qarara and Bani Suhaila—forcibly displacing their residents through evacuation orders and repeated attacks on civilians over the past two months. Dozens have been killed, while thousands of families have been pushed into the al-Mawasi area west of the city. Once home to only a handful of families and recognised as one of Gaza's primary agricultural zones, al-Mawasi has now become a refuge for the displaced. Many live in makeshift shelters fashioned from agricultural greenhouses.

Part of a pattern

The Magen Oz axis marks the fourth such military corridor established by the Israeli army during the war after the Nitzarim axis (cutting the north of the Strip from its central and southern regions), the Philadelphi axis (along Gaza's southern border with Egypt), and the Murāj axis (splitting Rafah from Khan Yunis). It further worsens the humanitarian crisis for civilians, and for Gazans like Mahmoud Abu Rida, 42, a resident of eastern Khan Yunis now displaced in al-Mawasi, it deepens his sense of loss.

AFP — Palestinian carry personal belongings as they walk in the Mawasi area of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on July 28, 2025.

"Before Magen Oz, we kept saying that any moment now there'd be a ceasefire announced and maybe we could go back to our homes," he said, speaking to Al Majalla. "But today there are fears. The army's control continues, and we may not be able to return. It's not easy… it's dragged on, and we're living on the streets waiting for any progress in the negotiations rather than more setbacks."

Abdullah Abu Jazar, 38, echoed those concerns. Several of his relatives and friends were killed near his home in recent weeks, shelled for refusing to evacuate. He had hoped to return and bury his loved ones, but the establishment of the Magen Oz axis and its announcement at a particularly sensitive point in the negotiations has extinguished that hope, replacing it with despair.

The Israeli army's objective appears to be the segmentation of the Gaza Strip into distinct military zones separated by fortified corridors. This enables the isolation of different areas and hinders the return of displaced civilians, justified by the army under the pretext of clearing out Palestinian 'factions', dismantling tunnel networks and weapons caches, and pursuing fighters among the ruins.

Isolated cantons

The Israeli army may be seeking to re-establish the military corridors that divided Gaza prior to 2005, when Israel unilaterally withdrew from the Strip. Back then, these corridors connected Israeli settlements, severely disrupting daily life for Gazans and consuming thousands of dunams of land. Following the withdrawal, much of that land was repurposed into residential and agricultural zones.

The Israeli army's objective appears to be the segmentation of the Gaza Strip into distinct military zones separated by fortified corridors

If negotiations between Hamas and Israel collapse, the areas currently under military control may be subject to so-called "cleansing" operations, as others have been. There remains cautious optimism that a ceasefire agreement will be reached if US President Donald Trump puts pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to strike a deal with Hamas. There are estimated to be ten living Israeli hostages, along with the bodies of several others, still being held be Hamas.

Until then, the Israeli army shows little sign of restraint. It continues to expand its military operations and is expected to do so until the last possible moment before a ceasefire is announced. Further possibly measures include the relocation of Gaza's civilian population into Israeli-controlled zones within Rafah, a plan that Hamas has firmly rejected. If talks fail, this plan may be enforced.

Jehad Shelbak / Reuters — An aerial view shows damaged buildings in Gaza, July 28, 2025.

Some fear that the Magen Oz axis will serve as a leverage point used to advance broader expansionist objectives and facilitate the gradual takeover of the entire Gaza Strip, the Israeli army having recently issued mass evacuation orders for areas south-west of Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, subsequently launching a ground incursion with heavy shelling and widespread destruction of farmland and homes. The army used the newly built Magen Oz axis as a launch base for this operation.

The operation's stated goal is to flatten the region, obliterating structures both above and below ground, in preparation for the establishment of a fifth axis, which would sever Deir al-Balah from Khan Yunis. Citing unnamed military sources, Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that Israel's intention was to divide Gaza into isolated cantons, a strategy designed to ensure incremental control over the entire Strip.

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