Road to redemption: How war turned into a springboard for Jewish settlement in Gaza
Settler spraying graffiti on his house during the evacuation of the Gaza strip settlement of Netzarim in August 2005. The text reads ‘We’ll be right back’ and ‘Thy children shall come again to their own border’
Yarden Michaeli and Avi Scharf write in Haaretz on 8 July 2024
The Israeli army’s occupation of parts of the Gaza Strip, for an undefined period of time, is one of the most dramatic developments in the war that began with Hamas’ surprise attack on Israel on October 7.
The IDF considers Israeli control over these areas as a strategic step, while Israel’s political leadership is pushing to continue the war. In the ongoing cease-fire negotiations, Hamas is demanding that Israel withdraw from areas that have been occupied and to end the war. Despite reports suggesting progress in the negotiations, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made it clear Israel may renew the fighting, and the parties are still far from reaching an agreement.
The army’s activities in the occupied areas are diverse: expanding military bases, building infrastructure and even paving roads, all while under persistent Hamas fire. Based on satellite imagery analysis and other open sources, Haaretz calculates that the Israeli army now controls about 26 percent of Gaza.
A senior IDF officer discussing the territory under full IDF control in the heart of Gaza called it “an effort at prolonged occupation.” But the military’s activity also provides a tailwind for supporters of the reestablishment of settlements which were evacuated in 2005. Conditions for the emergence of a new reality are being created: an indefinite Israeli presence in Gaza.
How the IDF controls Gaza
After nine months of war, the expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Gazans to the southern part of the Strip is becoming permanent. The IDF has occupied strategic areas from which Gazans fled, flattened them and turned them into positions used to control the Strip. This map shows the significance of these “control positions.”
Surrounding the Strip
First, the IDF built a buffer zone along the Israeli border, razed almost all the structures within it and prohibited Palestinians from entering. The army also took control of the Philadelphi route on the Gaza-Egypt border, to prevent Hamas access to Egypt, and also destroyed many of the structures there.
Cutting Gaza in half
The army also took control of a 38 km sq area known as the Netzarim corridor, from which Palestinians are banned. In its center, the IDF built army bases and paved the Netzarim road that bisects the Gaza Strip and is used to control the movement of Palestinians, and also serves as a launchpad for army activity. The map shows what the United Nations calls a high-risk area – a military zone. In it, most structures have been razed.
26 percent of Gaza
The IDF controls 26 percent of the Gaza Strip, according to Haaretz’s calculations. Hamas consistently demands that Israel withdraw from Gaza, and to dismantle its military sites on the Netzarim road. But the army attributes great importance to maintaining control over these control positions, especially the Netzarim corridor, which confines thousands of displaced Palestinians to southern Gaza. In Israel, that’s considered to be an achievement. The Netzarim corridor used to be full of life. Now there’s almost no trace of it left.
Bases along the road
Along the road, the army has built or requisitioned buildings to serve as at least four bases. The corridor has vast importance, the army explains. It was key to surrounding northern Gaza at the start of the war, and controlling it now prevents Hamas from moving freely and rehabilitating its forces. The road is about 6.5 kilometers long (four miles). Satellite imagery and footage from the ground show what is happening on it – and its connection to the movement to resettle Gaza.
Securing the pier
At the end of the corridor lies the pier that the United States built to bring aid to hungry Gazans. But the pier is a farce and isn’t as effective as ground routes. It broke apart, was dismantled twice ahead of high seas, and aid is piling up in the unloading area. Meanwhile, the army is securing the area, having installed electricity infrastructure. There’s already graffiti in its vicinity: “Without settlement, there is no victory.”
Controlling the roads
The IDF has built a control base on the coastal road – one of the two main roads along which Gazans have fled south. The army says that Hamas is trying to move people, intelligence and arms northward. Satellite imagery shows that activity on the base has recently expanded.
Seizing buildings
A Hamas video showing fire aimed at Israeli soldiers next to the Turkish Hospital. Credit: Hamas
The most prominent building in the Netzarim corridor in which the IDF is operating is the Turkish Hospital. The IDF spokesman confirmed to Haaretz that the army uses the hospital, adding that it found many “shafts and terror infrastructure” in it. Social media posts by soldiers show what day-to-day life in the base looks like. To see them, keep scrolling.
Video clips
The Turkish Hospital: Over a million people were exposed to these images, which appeared on the X accounts @ireallyhateyou (Kahane Was Right) and @ytirawi (Am Israel Chai). Credit: Published under Section 27A of the Copyright Law
Even after nine months of war, the IDF still imposes heavy restrictions on the entry of journalists to Gaza. This is why satellite imagery and documentation by soldiers themselves have become crucial for understanding the war.
While preparing this article, Haaretz analyzed open sources and satellite imagery by Planet Labs, and examined a wealth of images and videos posted by soldiers, as well as by Hamas.
The flood of video clips posted by IDF soldiers, exposing the location of Israeli forces, are picked up across the Arab world and often go viral to millions of web users, and are featured in channels affiliated with Hamas. The IDF has not managed to stop those security breaches.
This is how it was revealed that a Passover seder with many participants was held in the Turkish Hospital, briefings were held there, and military drills were held in the open air. The Passover Seder video was widely shared on Arabic language accounts and received over 1 million views. Israel’s Arutz Sheva website shared long excerpts of the footage. Published under 27 A section of the Copyright Law.
The Turkish Hospital was built on the ruins of the settlement of Netzarim, which was evacuated in 2005. Netzarim was part of an Israeli government plan to bisect Gaza and strengthen Israeli control by means of civilian settlements. It began as a Nahal military outpost and became a civilian settlement, the most isolated settlement in Gaza. From the start of the second intifada in September 2000, the small group of settlers at Netzarim required significant military protection; both settlers and the army suffered casualties.
Now this area has become a central mobilizing focus of the movement to resettle Gaza. For example, on Hanukkah, uniformed soldiers brought a menorah to a building adjacent to the Turkish Hospital. The menorah had been removed from the roof of the Netzarim synagogue when the settlement was evacuated and was part of the collection of the Gush Katif Museum in Jerusalem.
A brigade commander, standing next to it, declared that the soldiers were “the descendants and grandchildren of the Maccabees,” and that they had returned the menorah to its rightful place.
Soldiers also held a ceremony installing a Torah scroll at the site, and according to Amit Segal and other right-wing journalists, it was a Torah scroll that was removed from the Netzarim synagogue during the disengagement, and was now, according to them, returned ‘home.’
The Menorah footage was shared by the Bnei David – Eli Organization which is affiliated with extremist rabbis. The Torah book footage was shared by Arutz Sheva and Israel Hayom’s reporter Hanan Greenwood. Published under 27 A section of the Copyright Law.
Recently, right-wing journalists also published images of the daily schedule in a synagogue that opened in the Netzarim corridor – “The synagogue for the eternity of Netzarim – Nusach Turki [according to the Turkish rites].” According to the reports, meetings take place at the site, including those led by the rabbi of the yeshiva in the Evyatar outpost in the West Bank, David Amitai, who is serving as a reservist in Gaza.
The next video clip shows Amitai on the roof of the Turkish Hospital, explaining that “The Land of Israel is acquired through suffering,” as well as an officer printing copies of the Tanya, a book written by Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Lubavitch, the founder and first Rebbe of Chabad, at the hospital army base in the heart of the Gaza Strip. This isn’t the first time that soldiers have invested resources in printing out the book in Gaza.
Haaretz sent the IDF the complete videos, photographs, and additional documentation not included in this article. In response, the army said that these were serious cases which contradict IDF orders and ethics, and that they will be investigated and dealt with if necessary (the complete response appears at the end of the article).
These kinds of documented activities are rarely officially publicized, instead appearing regularly in various outlets of the Israeli right and the religious right, such as Telegram groups, YouTube, Facebook and X accounts of settler-related groups, or in individual social media accounts of soldiers encouraging the return of Jews to Gaza.
Amplified in this way, the movement to resettle Gaza is exploiting IDF operations to gain momentum under the radar. The satellite imagery below clarifies the centrality of the Netzarim settlement to the movement for resettling Gaza.
Hamas firing
Not far from the hospital, the army has established another control position on the Saladin road – one of many sites in the Netzarim corridor that Hamas attacks. Hamas has published videos showing snipers, mortar fire and drones dropping bombs, and throughout the area Israeli soldiers have been injured and killed. After a reservist was killed in April, the journalist Yinon Magal tweeted an image of a cardboard sign announcing the establishment of a settlement called Brit Netzarim in memory of a fallen soldier.
Asphalt and Israeli flags
Video published by soldiers. Credit: Published under section 27A of the Copyright Law
At the end of the road, the IDF has taken over a school whose location was revealed in a video published by a visiting Israeli reporter. In May, Hamas announced that it fired at IDF forces in the vicinity of the base. In addition, the IDF asphalted the Netzarim road to enable military vehicles to travel faster. Soldiers placed Israeli flags along the road and called it “The blue and white Netzarim route,” referring to the colors of the Israeli flag.
The Gaza war began when Hamas murdered over 1,200 Israelis and abducted about 240 others in a surprise attack on October 7, 2023. More than 300 Israeli soldiers have been killed since the beginning of the ground operation. According to the Hamas-run authorities in Gaza, the war has cost the lives of more than 37,000 Palestinians, a figure that does not distinguish between combatants and civilians. The majority of identified Palestinian casualties are women, children and elderly.
Prime Minister Netanyahu declares that the goal of the war is “total victory” over Hamas and “the return of all the hostages – the dead and the living.” He continues to emphasize that stopping the war before achieving its goals “won’t happen.” As for Jews resettling Gaza, Netanyahu has said that this was “an unrealistic step.” It was never defined as a goal of the war.
However, holding on to Gaza for strategic reasons synchronizes with the goals of the right-wing movement for re-establishing the settlements. The depth of support within the army for settling Gaza is hard to gauge, but it is clear that this is a phenomenon that can be seen on the ground. After years of strengthening religiosity in the army, the results are palpable, as are the influences of religious Zionism on the reserve forces.
For example, soldiers, including officers, have been documented in dozens of cases raising orange flags inside Gaza (orange being the color associated with the protests against the 2005 disengagement), displaying signs declaring the renewal of settlements, or vocally calling for resettlement. Soldiers have often been documented dancing with Torah scrolls in Gaza, sometimes next to signs declaring a return to Gush Katif, and in at least two instances they were photographed wearing orange Gush Katif T-shirts over their uniforms.
Soldiers have also put up mezuzahs all over Gaza. During several mezuzah installments they used the blessing, “He who establishes the boundary of the widow,” which is customarily recited during the renewal of a Jewish settlement in Israel.
Senior officers participated in these ceremonies – including Col. Liron Batito, who commands the Givati Brigade, and Col. Benny Aharon, up until recently the commander of the 401st Brigade. Soldiers reciting the ‘Establishes the Border of the Widow’ prayer, reported by Dvir Amar from Israel’s Arutz Sheva. Published under section 27A of the Copyright Law
Even if symbolic in nature, these soldiers’ private initiatives don’t happen in a vacuum. Outside of the IDF, a large convention in Jerusalem calling for the resettlement of Gaza in January attracted significant attention, but there were also other events, including a march towards Gaza led by the Nahala settlers’ organization.
The chairman of Nahala, and one of the most prominent figures in the settlement movement, Daniella Weiss, appeared recently at a newly-established Knesset caucus for settlement in Gaza, where she spoke about a plan for a nucleus of settlements, which had attracted hundreds of families ready to ‘return’ immediately. She explained the resettlement could start in army bases. Aspiring settlers have been gathering along the Israeli side of the Gaza border, awaiting an opportunity to enter.
According to an April survey conducted by the Israel Democracy Institute, 33 percent of Jewish responders who identified as right wing support resettling Gaza. Public opinion leaders like Yinon Magal exploit every available platform to promote settlement. A video posted on X by Avraham Bloch, a journalist for the daily Maariv, shows a peak moment from the recent nationalist Flag March on Jerusalem Day: tens of thousands of young religious Israelis cheering at the Western Wall plaza in response to calls to Judaize Gaza.
The settlement endeavor also has significant support within Israel’s political leadership. At least 12 ministers – over one third of the government – publicly support returning to Gush Katif and the ‘Judaization’ of Gaza. The most important of them – Finance Minister and minister in the Defense Ministry Bezalel Smotrich, who called “to erase the memory of Amalek from under the heavens,” as well as National Security Ministry Itamar Ben-Gvir – claim that Jewish settlement is the key to Israel’s security. Smotrich recently said, “The cabinet’s war goal includes long-term operational control by the IDF,” adding that preparations should be made to renew the settlement of Kfar Darom in Gaza.
The negotiations between Israel and Hamas have been stuck for months over the same key disputed points: an end to the war and the IDF’s withdrawal. The gap between Netanyahu and the Hamas leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, remains wide. While the parties argue and the war rages on, the settlement movement is gradually approaching the fulfillment of the promise it made almost 20 years ago – to return to Gaza.
The IDF response
Haaretz asked for a response from the IDF regarding the activities of soldiers encouraging the resettlement of Gaza:
“These are serious instances that don’t align with the values and operational orders of the IDF, and do not contribute to the goals of the war. The incidents described will be investigated and dealt with if necessary.
The military chaplaincy provides all the equipment required by religious combatants in the area of the Gaza Strip to enable them to conduct a religious lifestyle even during wartime. The prayer sites inside Gaza, the Torah lessons and the other activities described in the article were conducted at the initiative of combatants.
“As for the activity of IDF forces in the [Turkish] Hospital, Hamas cynically exploits the civilian population in Gaza, which includes the use of hospitals to fire at IDF forces. We stress that the IDF uses the building for military purposes only.
“At the Turkish Hospital, the army exposed many shafts and terror infrastructure that connected the hospital to military terror tunnels, about 10 kilometers in length. These tunnels were used by members of Hamas who had turned the area into a military complex with the hospital at its center. It should be emphasized that Hamas fully converted the hospital from a medical facility into a military complex, so that the medical activity ended there completely long before IDF forces entered it.”
Digital project manager: Uri Talshir. Design: Idit Frenkel. Development: Asi Oren. Video and graphics: Dan Brummer, Aron Ehrlich, Ayala Berger.
Satellite maps credit: Google Earth
Haaretz has made limited use of videos and footage included in this report. We have not been able to trace the identity of this material’s creators. All materials are used under sections 27A and 50A1 of the Israeli Copyright Law. If any of the footage is yours, please contact news@haaretz.co.il to inform us.
The texts in this visual report have been reproduced.