Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday outlined an escalation in military operations in Gaza, including the large-scale displacement of local civilians and open-ended Israeli military control over significant parts of the territory, marking a strategic shift and fueling speculation that Israel may be moving toward a long-term reoccupation of the enclave.
New satellite imagery shows IDF gearing up to set up a first aid distribution center in southern Gaza. The IDF has begun extensive earthworks to build a food distribution complex outside Rafah, with satellite imagery showing military engineering vehicles clearing roughly 20 acres in the western part of the city in southern Gaza.
Israel’s new Morag corridor advances westward north of Rafah, about to reach the airstrip from which Hamas assault paragliders took off on Oct7 attack
3May2025 imagery: Planet Labs PBC pic.twitter.com/v1qlH6fxD6
— avi scharf (@avischarf) May 5, 2025
According to Haaretz, the army presented the plan to the UN and humanitarian organizations operating in the Strip, but they rejected it and refused to participate. Aid groups argue the plan fails to address the humanitarian needs of the population, lacks provisions for equitable food distribution, does not ensure protection for vulnerable groups, and offers no guarantees for the population’s survival. But the real reason the UN and NGOs won’t cooperate with Israel has to do with their fear of losing the trust of the terror group Hamas, with which they’ve been cooperating for close to twenty years.
The army plans to relocate hundreds of thousands of displaced Gaza residents currently living in tents north of Rafah further south. Under the proposed plan, residents would move through military crossings to new humanitarian zones spanning the area between the Philadelphi corridor and the recently reopened Morag corridor, encompassing parts of Rafah.
The designated zones will feature new “hubs” constructed by Israel and secured by US security contractors, from which humanitarian aid would be distributed—exclusively to civilians vetted and approved by Israeli security. Since early March, Netanyahu’s government has barred all humanitarian aid from entering Gaza, and it appears the population is running out of its food resources.
Brian Hughes, a spokesman for Trump’s National Security Council, stated that the “president has made clear the consequences Hamas will face if it continues to hold hostages, including American Edan Alexander and the bodies of four other Americans.” Alexander is among up to 24 hostages still believed to be alive in Gaza.
In April, Col. (Res.) Prof. Gabi Siboni and Lieutenant-Colonel (Res.) Erez Wiener wrote in the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security that the IDF’s primary leverage in Gaza, short of full territorial control, lies in creating a clear separation between the civilian population and Hamas. A key component of this strategy is the establishment of a new humanitarian complex in the Rafah area, to which the broader Gaza population would be relocated, using controlled passageways designed to minimize infiltration by hostile actors. A partial, temporary military administration would govern the zone, with aid distribution managed by private companies or vetted local actors approved by the Shin Bet. This separation is intended to intensify pressure on Hamas, which would remain vulnerable to intensified IDF operations.
To move forward, the two authors, who are both among the emerging group of right-wing military officers making the rounds on various TV panels, suggest Israel must take the following steps:
- Increasing Military Pressure – Continue operations to occupy and cleanse territory, gaining operational control while preparing for a focused campaign to destroy Hamas. The priority should be on dismantling Hamas’ infrastructure, including tunnels and weapons depots, and weakening its military and political leadership.
- Separating the Population from Hamas – Establish a humanitarian compound in the Rafah area, and potentially in other parts of Gaza as needed, to relocate the entire Gaza population. These compounds would serve as transit camps for the eventual emigration of Gaza residents to other countries.
- Controlling Humanitarian Aid – Implement a temporary military government and use private companies or locally approved entities to distribute aid, ensuring Hamas cannot exploit humanitarian resources for its own purposes.
- Managing Internal Discourse – Present a clear political message to the public, emphasizing the commitment to returning hostages, while also highlighting the importance of destroying Hamas and eliminating the threat from Gaza. The government should work closely with Israeli media to communicate a unified stance of determination.
- Long-Term Preparedness – Enhance intelligence and search processes for recovering the deceased, maintaining a national commitment to securing the release of every hostage.
- International Cooperation – Strengthen alliances with the United States and other Western nations to weaken the Iranian resistance axis, leveraging the support of the Trump administration to increase pressure on Hamas.
