Israel deploys troops to new security corridor across southern Gaza

The Israeli military has announced the deployment of troops to a newly established security corridor across southern Gaza.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggested the corridor, announced on Wednesday as the “Morag Corridor”, would cut off the southern city of Rafah from the rest of Gaza.

Netanyahu, who is set to meet with US President Donald Trump at the White House on Monday, said “we are cutting up the strip, and we are increasing the pressure step by step, so that they will give us our hostages.”

His defence minister has said Israel would seize large areas of Gaza and add them to its so-called security zones

A military statement said troops with the 36th Division had been deployed. It was not immediately clear how many, or where exactly the new corridor was located. Morag is the name of a Jewish settlement that once stood between Rafah and Khan Younis, and Netanyahu had suggested it would run between the cities.

Maps published by Israeli media showed the corridor running the width of the narrow coastal strip from east to west.

Israel has also reasserted control over the northern Netzarim corridor since shattering the ceasefire last month with a surprise bombardment to pressure Hamas to accept new terms for the truce, which has killed hundreds.

Israel has pledged to escalate the fighting with Hamas until the militant group returns the remaining hostages it has held since October 2023, disarms and leaves the territory. It has also halted all supplies of food, fuel and humanitarian aid to Gaza in order to apply additional pressure.

Hamas says it will only release the hostages in exchange for the release of more Palestinian prisoners, a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, while it rejects any demands that it lay down its arms and leave the enclave.

The war in Gaza began after Hamas militants attacked southern Israel on 7 October 2023, killing 1,200 people, largely civilians. 251 hostages were taken, most of whom have since been released as part of negotiations between the two parties. 59 hostages remain, 24 of whom are thought to be alive.

Hamas-run health authorities in Gaza say more than 50,000 Palestinians have been killed since the war began. Their figures do not distinguish between civilians and Hamas militants

New footage contradicts Israeli account in killing of Palestinian medics

Among Gaza’s dead are 15 Palestinian medics killed last month by Israeli forces, who then bulldozed over the bodies along with their mangled vehicles, burying them in a mass grave which was discovered last week.

Phone footage from one of the killed medics has revealed new evidence of the event that contradicts initial Israeli claims that the medics’ vehicles did not have emergency signals on when troops opened fire on them.

The footage shows the Red Crescent and Civil Defence teams driving slowly with their emergency vehicles’ lights flashing, logos visible, as they pulled up to help an ambulance that had come under fire earlier. The teams do not appear to be acting unusually or in a threatening manner as three medics emerge and head toward the stricken ambulance.

Their vehicles immediately come under a barrage of gunfire, which goes on for more than five minutes with brief pauses. The owner of the phone can be heard praying.

“Forgive me, mother. This is the path I chose, mother, to help people,” he cries, his voice weak.

The Israeli military earlier said it opened fire on the vehicles because they were “advancing suspiciously” on nearby troops without headlights or emergency signals.

The initial account of the vehicles not having emergency lights on was mistaken, an Israeli military official told journalists Saturday evening on condition of anonymity.

The Israeli military also said that after the shooting, troops determined they had killed a Hamas figure named Mohammed Amin Shobaki and eight other militants. However, none of the 15 slain medics has that name, and no other bodies are known to have been found at the site.

The military has not said what happened to Shobaki’s body or released the names of the other alleged militants. The Israeli military official said Israel was “working to bring evidence” that Hamas operatives were killed.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society’s vice president, Marwan Jilani, said the phone with the footage was found in the pocket of one of its slain staffers. The Palestinian ambassador to the United Nations distributed the video to the UN Security Council.

Two block-shaped concrete structures visible in the video are also seen in a UN video released Sunday showing the recovery of the bodies from the site — a sign they are in the same location.

Asked about the video, the Israeli military said Saturday that the incident was “under thorough examination.”