The IDF has expanded its presence in the central Gaza Strip in recent months, increasing the number of outposts in the Nitzarim corridor area to 19, according to a report today (Monday) in the New York Times.
According to the report, a team of experts analyzed satellite images from the past three months, which indicate that alongside these outposts, dozens of smaller outposts have been established in the Nitzarim corridor area. Even though some of them were built in the earlier stages of the war, the photographs show that the pace of building the outposts is accelerating: 12 outposts were built or expanded since the beginning of September.
Those positions indicate that Israel plans to maintain military control over Gaza, something that senior officials in Israel have denied until now.
Earlier this week, an analysis of satellite images conducted by experts at the BBC indicates that Israel has decided to completely sever northern Gaza from the rest of the strip and is constructing a "Northern Netzarim Axis" south of the city of Gaza.
In what appears to be a continuation of the implementation of the Champions Plan in the Strip, satellite experts who examined the latest images from the Strip found that Israel is actively working on the ground to sever northern Gaza from the rest of the Strip. According to the images analyzed by Dr. H. Halayer, a security expert and satellite imagery analyst, Israel is creating an additional axis that cuts through the strip in order to prevent the return of Gazans to the north.
According to the analyst, the IDF is currently creating a "partition line" 9 km long from east to west across the strip. This line is being constructed south of the cities of Gaza, Jabalia, Beit Hanoun, and Beit Lahia. The axis separates these parts from the rest of the strip to the south of them, and according to the layer, it is "intended to completely prevent any possibility of return of residents to the northern strip in the current situation."
Regarding the IDF's activities, the lawyer said: "They are positioning themselves for the long term, I fully expect that in the foreseeable future the northern barrier will look and operate exactly as the Netzarim Axis does in the center of the Strip."
The city of Gaza in the northern part of the Strip was the largest city in the Strip before the October 7 attack, and it was home to approximately one million people, according to estimates. Additionally, Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun were also considered major population centers in the northern Strip, where tens of thousands of people used to live. According to estimates, thousands or tens of thousands of solitary Gazans remain in the northern Gaza Strip.
