Israel expanding buffer zone in Gaza, now controls 35%: Report

By Zein Khalil and Rania Abu Shamala

JERUSALEM/ISTANBUL (AA)— Israel is expanding the "buffer zone" in Gaza, which now accounts for approximately 35% of the enclave's total area of 360 square kilometers, an Israeli broadcaster said in its report on Wednesday.

"While international discourse remains preoccupied with whether Israel will carry out a full-scale ground invasion in Gaza, the reality on the ground indicates that a deep and ongoing operation is already underway," according to a report from Israel's Channel 12.

On May 4, Israel's Security Cabinet approved an extension of the ongoing genocidal war in Gaza, reaffirming its intention to occupy the besieged territory.

The channel noted that the Israeli army continues to expand the buffer zone, establish military posts, and gradually change the borders of the Palestinian enclave.

It cited data allegedly derived from satellite image analysis by Ben-Gurion University's Professor Yaakov Garb.

The buffer zone has a width of more than 2 kilometers and covers approximately 129 square kilometers, or roughly 35% of Gaza's area, according to the data.

Around 15 large military posts have been established within the buffer zone, and the Israeli army is currently building five military corridors that run laterally across the enclave, it added.

Mapping the current deployment, the channel said: “The army is present in several areas across the Strip: in Rafah, from the Philadelphi Corridor to the Morag axis, the entire city of Rafah—except for one neighborhood, Jeneina—is under operational control of the army.

“The eastern part of the Philadelphi Corridor (on the Gaza-Egypt border) is also under full operational control, and if the army wishes, it can take control of the entire corridor within a few hours.”

In Gaza City, the army is stationed in the Shejaiya and al-Tuffah neighborhoods, and in the northern part of the Strip, it is positioned in Beit Hanoun and along the coastal axis near Beit Lahia, according to the channel.​​​​​​​

The Israeli army has continued a brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip, killing more than 52,900 Palestinians since October 2023, most of them women and children.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.