Control tightened

Automatically saved draft

An Israeli tank

(Bild: APA/AFP/Menahem Kahana)

The Israeli army is expanding a road across the Gaza Strip in order to maintain security control over the area. This was reported by the US newspaper "Wall Street Journal" on Tuesday. Israel's military already controls important north-south roads in Gaza.

The road, which is now to be expanded, divides the sealed-off coastal strip south of the city of Gaza from the Israeli border to the Mediterranean coast along an east-west corridor. This has been occupied since the start of the war around four months ago. According to the report, the Israeli army is pursuing a plan to be able to move quickly through the coastal area on a safe route even after the withdrawal of most troops.

Preparing for the next phase?
The army is currently preparing for the next phase of the war, in which it intends to withdraw from populated areas and concentrate on targeted attacks against the Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip. The east-west route is to be used and patrolled until Israel's military operations are completed. This could take months or even years, it was said.

Although Israel's government has affirmed that it does not want to occupy the Gaza Strip permanently, there should nevertheless be "complete security control" over the area. The war was triggered by the massacre carried out by Hamas and other extremist groups on October 7 in Israel near the border with the Gaza Strip. More than 1,200 people were killed and another 250 were taken hostage.

Israel's army responded with massive air strikes and a ground offensive. According to Hamas, more than 29,000 Palestinians have been killed and around 70,000 injured since then.