Netanyahu announces IDF seizing ‘second Philadelphi route’ in southern Gaza
IDF soldiers in Jabalya refugee camp in Gaza.
Jonathan Lis, Jack Khoury and Yaniv Kubovich report in Haaretz on 2 April 2025:
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Wednesday that the Israel Defense Forces is “shifting gears” in the Gaza Strip by capturing a second “Philadelphi route” in the south.
The so-called Morag route is named after the Morag settlement, which was located between Khan Yunis and Rafah and evacuated during Israel’s 2005 disengagement from the Gaza Strip.
The original Philadelphi route, which runs along the Gaza-Egypt border, was seized by the IDF in May as part of the Israeli army’s controversial move into the Rafah region, aimed at preventing Hamas’ ability to rearm and resupply.
The Morag route is expected to run in parallel to the Philadelphi route, a few kilometers north of the land corridor.
The defense establishment said that the plan was concealed until Netayahu’s statement was given in order to protect the forces on the ground carrying it out. A defense source told Haaretz that Netanyahu’s statement caught the IDF by surprise, seeing as the plan had not yet been approved and its disclosure could endanger forces in Gaza.
The source also said that most of the infrastructure and buildings along the designated area of the route have already been destroyed, but added that the route’s connection to the shore runs through al-Mawasi – an area defined as a humanitarian zone – making it unclear how the route could be connected to the sea.
The military said that the objective of the operation in the southern Gaza Strip is to encircle Rafah, and that the strikes that were carried out overnight into Wednesday were intended to prepare the area for the military operation. Netanyahu also said that the IDF is “seizing territory, hitting terrorists [and] destroying infrastructure” in the video statement he posted on X.
“We are adding pressure step by step, so that our hostages will be given to us. And the longer they don’t bring them back, the more we will increase the pressure,” Netanyahu added.
Medical sources in Gaza reported that 68 people were killed on Wednesday across the Gaza Strip due to IDF fire. One report indicated that at least four people were killed in an attack on a Palestinian police force in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza.
Earlier on Wednesday, it was reported that at least 19 people were killed in an IDF strike on an UNRWA clinic in northern Gaza’s Jabalya.
Defense Minister Israel Katz said earlier Wednesday that the IDF is expanding ground operations in the Gaza Strip and working to seize additional territory.
In response to the decision, the Hostage and Missing Families Forum said: “Has it been decided to sacrifice the hostages for the sake of ‘seizing territory’? Instead of releasing the hostages through an agreement and ending the war, the Israeli government is sending more soldiers to Gaza to fight in the same places they’ve fought time and time again.”
IDF spokesman Avichai Adraee told residents in the northern Gaza Strip to evacuate in preparation for an attack in the area on Tuesday. A similar notice was issued to residents of the Rafah area on Monday.
The defense establishment views the move as a pressure tactic to push Hamas into accepting Israel’s terms for a hostage release deal – specifically, the release of 11 live hostages on the first day, rather than the five proposed by Hamas.
According to Hamas’ Health Ministry, the attack that broke the cease-fire between Israel and Hamas two weeks ago killed 436 Gazans, including 183 children.
Former hostages and family members of hostages currently being held in Hamas captivity criticized the government’s decision to resume the war, expressed frustration and pain over the decision, and warned of possible consequences for the hostages who are still being held in captivity. Out of 59 hostages who are currently being held in Gaza, 35 have been pronounced dead.
Allison Kaplan Sommer contributed to this report.
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