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Netzarim Corridor
Military passage through the Gaza Strip / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Netzarim Corridor[1] is a zone of occupation that Israel has set up in the Gaza Strip during the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.[2] The corridor splits the strip into a northern zone and a southern zone.[3] According to the Institute for the Study of War, in July 2024 Israel increased the width of the corridor from 2 km to 4 km.[4] The corridor is named for the site of the former Israeli settlement that it includes.[5]
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Israel invaded the Gaza strip on 27 October 2023 as a response to the 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel three weeks prior. By 31 October 2023, IDF troops were confirmed to have entered the area of the former Netzarim settlement.[6] By 6 November, the IDF "had cut an informal, winding track" across the Gaza Strip which reached to the coast.[7] On 24 November, it was reported that the IDF would "continue administrative and logistical movements on the Netzarim axis and coastal road in the northern Gaza Strip".[8]
Satellite imagery from March 6, 2024 showed that a 4-mile (6.5 km) long partially paved road, numbered Route 749,[9] had been constructed within the corridor. The road reaches from the Gaza-Israel border to the Mediterranean Sea.[5] Approximately 1.2 miles (2 km) of the road consists of pavement that existed prior to the Israel–Hamas war, with Israel clearing a path through the entire width of the strip. The IDF also repaired portions that were destroyed by armored vehicles and reinforced it with multiple lanes for various types of military vehicles.[2][5] Satellite imagery from May 24, 2024 showed new pavement had been laid over gravel roads since May 18, 2024 up to the intersection with the Salah al-Din Road.[10]
The IDF considers this corridor to be essential for carrying out raids in northern and central Gaza, as well as securely channeling aid into the region.[11]