Palestinian children inspect the damage at the site of an Israeli strike on tents for displaced people in Khan Younis, July 12, 2025. (Credit: Ramadan Abed/Reuters)
BEIRUT — The Israeli army said early Wednesday it had completed a new military-controlled route through southern Gaza, a roughly 15-kilometer corridor that cuts off all residential areas east of Khan Younis from those to the west.
The route, named "Magen Oz," is intended to disrupt Hamas operations and "defeat the Khan Younis Brigade," the army claimed. The move comes as Israel seeks to increase pressure on Hamas during truce negotiations in Doha, Qatar, which have been ongoing since July 6. The announcement comes amid a surge in Hamas ground attacks on Israeli forces in southern Gaza in recent days.
(Credit: Jaimee Lee Haddad/L'Orient Today)
Magen Oz is the latest in a network of military corridors Israel has built and it controls across Gaza in recent years and during the war. Others include Kissoufim, which runs through central Gaza; Netzarim, which splits the enclave into north and south; the Philadelphi corridor along the Gaza-Egypt border; and Morag, which divides the strip east to west.
Kissoufim was reopened on Nov. 12, 2024, following international pressure to allow more humanitarian aid into southern Gaza. But the remaining corridors remain restricted and are key to Israel's military operations.
Netzarim, established March 2024, and Morag, completed in April 2025, have carved Gaza into five sections, enabling the Israeli army to monitor and control movement in all directions. Announcing Morag's creation, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the military was "taking control of the territory, striking terrorists and destroying infrastructure," in a bid to secure the return of the hostages taken on Oct. 7.
The Philadelphi corridor, seized by Israel in May 2024 in violation of the 1978 Camp David accords, was the last Gaza crossing not previously under Israeli control. It was captured, Israel said, to block potential Hamas operations along the border with Egypt.
