Israel takes new territory in Gaza, squeezing Hamas

A man and woman leave after obtaining a sack of flour from a United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) warehouse in Gaza City on April 1, 2025. Israeli officials have asserted a vision for postwar Gaza in which Palestinians would move elsewhere — an idea vehemently rejected by much of the world. (Saher Alghorra/The New York Times)

By Aaron Boxerman and Adam Rasgon

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Wednesday that Israel had seized a ribbon of territory in the Gaza Strip hours after his government laid out plans to seize large parts of the enclave.

The announcement adds to the growing drumbeat from Israeli officials in recent days who have suggested that Israel would shift tactics to hold on to territory in Gaza, at least temporarily, in an effort to pressure Hamas to free the remaining hostages. The officials have also asserted a vision for postwar Gaza in which Palestinians would move elsewhere — an idea vehemently rejected by much of the world.

Holding territory, Netanyahu said, was meant to push Hamas to return at least 59 remaining hostages the group and its allies captured on Oct. 7, 2023. “The pressure will increase until they hand them over,” he said in a filmed statement.

In the 15-month military campaign that preceded a January truce, Israeli forces stormed Gaza cities before withdrawing, leaving behind vast destruction but allowing Palestinian militants to regroup in the rubble.

In the weeks after the ceasefire took hold, many Palestinians also returned home, but Israel resumed its attacks in mid-March.

Now, the military appears to be planning to station forces in captured territory. Defense Minister Israel Katz on Wednesday said newly captured areas would be “added to the security zones” the military currently maintains in Gaza, including a buffer along the enclave’s borders with Egypt and Israel, and much of a key road in the center of the enclave.

Netanyahu said Israel would establish a security corridor, which he suggested would cut off the southern city of Rafah from the rest of the strip. The so-called Morag Corridor appeared to take its name from a former Israeli settlement in southern Gaza, from which Israel withdrew in 2005.

It was not clear how large the corridor was or how long Israel intended to hold it. The military said that it would not provide details beyond Netanyahu’s statement.

Despite their anger at Israel’s latest orders, some Palestinians in the enclave took to the streets to protest against Hamas and call on the Islamist group to end the war.

“Hamas out,” protesters chanted Wednesday at a rally in Beit Lahiya, in northern Gaza. “Enough death,” they shouted.

Hamas is likely to reject Netanyahu’s latest plan for a postwar Gaza, which includes Hamas laying down its arms, Israeli security control in Gaza and what he has called voluntary migration for Palestinians.

It’s unclear whether the recent moves by Israel amount to a bid to pressure Hamas to negotiate and make concessions, or indicate a more comprehensive plan for Gaza.

Netanyahu has repeatedly conditioned the end of the war on the dismantling of Hamas’ military wing and government, but his comments offered a detailed vision of how he thought that could be achieved.

For their part, Hamas officials have rejected ideas calling on them to give up their weapons, send their leaders into exile or accept the depopulation of Gaza. Hamas is demanding an end to the war and a full Israeli withdrawal in exchange for the release of all the hostages still held in Gaza.