“Rafah Will Be Evacuated”: Israel to cut off Hamas supply line

Israel is in the final stages of preparing a large-scale evacuation of civilians from the city of Rafah in southern Gaza, as part of a wider strategic operation aimed at crippling Hamas’s ability to operate and smuggle weapons into the region. Central to this initiative is the planned establishment of a new security corridor—dubbed the “Morag Corridor”—which will serve as a buffer zone stretching from the Mediterranean coast through the former Israeli settlement of Morag, connecting to the Philadelphi Corridor along the Egyptian border.

According to multiple reports in the Israeli media, the Morag Corridor will extend up to five kilometers (approximately 3.1 miles) into the Gaza Strip. The move would effectively encircle Rafah, allowing the IDF to exert greater control over southern Gaza and sever Hamas's last remaining external supply lines.

“Rafah will be evacuated. This area will become a buffer zone to eliminate Hamas’s ability to regroup or smuggle weapons through the southern border,” Defense Minister Yisrael Katz said earlier this week. The creation of the corridor and the subsequent military operations are expected to significantly escalate IDF presence and activity in the region.

Updated military evacuation maps have already been released, showing expanded clearance areas near the Egypt-Gaza border. These maps signal Israel’s intention to broaden its operational footprint in the area, with particular emphasis on securing critical border zones historically exploited for smuggling by Hamas and other militant factions.

An IDF official, speaking to Ynet, emphasized the strategic nature of the move: “This operation is not only tactical but strategic. Control of Rafah and the Philadelphi Corridor will close off Hamas’s last remaining external supply routes.”

Israeli defense and intelligence leaders view the operation as a critical step toward dismantling Hamas’s infrastructure in Gaza and preventing the group from rearming. The buffer zone is also intended to provide added security for southern Israeli communities that have long been vulnerable to cross-border attacks.