Housing, showers, electricity: These are the outposts the Israeli army is building in the heart of Gaza
The Neztarim outpost in a photo uploaded by soldiers to social media
Yarden Michaeli, Bar Peleg and Avi Scharf report in Haaretz on 18 April 2024:
Satellite images and photographs shared on social media show extensive development and construction at two outposts the Israel Defense Forces is building on the strategic road that divides the Gaza Strip into two.
The army calls the construction of these outposts in what it calls the “Netzarim Corridor” as a long-term achievement. The whole corridor is referred to as something that is here to stay.
The Netzarim Road, in the heart of this corridor, bisects the Gaza Strip. The outposts were built along this road, which is intended to enable the IDF to control the movement of Palestinians from the south to the north and launch operations in different parts of the Strip.
The two outposts are positioned at the crossroads between the Netzarim Road and two other key routes, along which hundreds of thousands of Palestinians fled from north Gaza to the south in the earlier stages of the war. One of the outposts sits on the crossroads between Netzarim Road and Salah a-Din Road, and the second is located where it meets Gaza’s coastal route.
The construction of the outposts is visible in satellite images taken during different times of the war. They were taken by private Earth imaging company Planet Labs, and indicate that Netzarim was paved as an extension to an existing road. Land was later cleared for the outposts, and the army then moved equipment to the sites.
Haaretz examined satellite images taken on Tuesday, April 16. They show extensive activity at the two outposts, which corresponds with on the ground documentation, apparently made by soldiers and uploaded to social media.
In this way, it is possible to understand what is happening at the outposts and see the activity on the ground. The pictures show, for example, that air-conditioned housing units for the soldiers were brought, as well as power infrastructure. Apparently they were brought intact on trucks and positioned at the outposts.
Close to these units, it is possible to identify showers and bathrooms. According to the photos, a concrete barrier at the outposts on the coastal road has the words “Welcome to Netzarim Base” spray-painted on it.
Two huge flagpoles have also been set up at one of the outposts. In one image, a soldier can be seen next to one of the flagpoles waving the flag of the Mer Group, a company that specializes in communications infrastructure and tactical communications solutions. Haaretz contacted the company, which declined to respond on the topic.
Control of the Netzarim Corridor is at the heart of the ongoing negotiations with Hamas, which is demanding that the IDF withdraw from the Gaza Strip – which would also mean releasing control over the Netzarim Corridor, the road, and the outposts built on it.
The Israeli army, however, considers the construction and control of the corridor as an operational achievement intended to last for a long time, and says that its occupation and holding of the site are a key element that most disturb Hamas.
The outposts can be seen from a long distance, and officials within the army claim that is an unusual achievement that greatly disturbs Hamas, which cannot accept it.
The satellite images show what appears to be passageway systems, directly on Gaza’s Salah Al-Din and coastal roads.
The IDF, however, refused to provide any details concerning these parts of the outposts and did not issue any response to Haaretz’s query as to whether these are military systems designated to manage, inspect, and filter the movement of Gazan residents.
As part of the negotiations, Hamas is demanding that hundreds of thousands of displaced Gazans who fled to the south be allowed to return to Gaza’s north. According to a report by Israeli journalist Barak Ravid on the Axios news website earlier this month, Israel “isn’t prepared to allow those returning to northern Gaza not to pass an inspection to make sure that there are no members of Hamas”.
In addition to the military’s construction at the outposts, video footage shows that the soldiers devote time to other activities as well. In two of the videos shared on social media, soldiers can be seen singing and dancing in what seems to be an inauguration of a Torah scroll that took place not far from the Salah Al-Din Road outpost. Throughout the war, soldiers have been documented carrying Torah scrolls in various areas of the Gaza Strip.
The IDF said in response that “as part of the army’s ground operation, the IDF controls the Netzarim Corridor, which allows our troops to secure operational control in the area.
“A reorganization of the area was carried out throughout the area to allow the forces to meet all operational needs,” the IDF continued. “The structures [captured by the satellite images] are not permanent.”
This article is reproduced in its entirety