Israel is expanding its presence in central Gazafortifying military bases and demolishing Palestinian buildings. After analyzing satellite images dating back to recent months, the New York Times has put forward the hypothesis that the Jewish state may wish to exercise long-term control over the area.
In the Strip a block of 46 square km controlled by the IDF
Since the first months of the war in Gaza, Israeli forces have occupied the 6 km of the Netzarim corridor, which divides the enclave in two, to prevent hundreds of thousands of displaced Gazans from returning north. With the demolition of buildings and the construction of new bases, the corridor has now transformed into a 46 square km block effectively controlled by Israeli forces.
Over the past three months, the IDF has demolished more than 600 buildings around the road in an apparent attempt to create a buffer zone, and has rapidly expanded a network of outposts with communications towers and defensive fortifications. The strengthening seems to suggest a change of strategy on the part of Israel, which in the past had avoided controlling the enclave’s territory, thus creating the ‘vacuum’ that allowed Hamas to take control in some parts of Gaza.
Control over Gaza, what we know
Officially, the expansion has exclusively operational reasons, but Israeli leaders have repeatedly said that they want to maintain control of security in Gaza even after the war, without going into detail about the methods and consequences. Control of the Netzarim corridor, which crosses Gaza from the Israeli border to the Mediterranean Sea, has given Israel the ability to regulate movement throughout the enclave, keeping hundreds of thousands of Palestinians displaced in the south. In recent months, the IDF has expanded its power over territory on both sides of the corridor to make it easier for Israeli forces to hold the area, Israeli army spokesman Nadav Shoshani said in an interview.
Some Israeli ministers have said that military control of Gaza should pave the way for new Jewish settlements, although Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has temporarily ruled out that option. The former Israeli settlement of Netzarim – after which the military corridor takes its name – is located in the area now fully under Israeli control.
Israeli bases in Gaza
By analyzing satellite images, the NYT found that the Israeli army now has at least 19 large bases throughout the area and dozens of small bases. While some were established at the start of the war, images show that 12 bases have been built or expanded in the last three months.
Shoshani reiterated that the extended occupation of the territory is for operational reasons only. “Anything built there can be taken down in a day,” he said. The expansion of the fortifications suggests, however, that Israel is at least preparing for a prolonged battle in Gaza, the NYT claims.
The Biden administration has opposed long-term Israeli control of the enclave, hoping it could become part of a future Palestinian state. President-elect Donald Trump has called on Israel to “end” the war, without specifying what conditions he might find acceptable for a post-war Gaza.