Israel has completed the encirclement of Gaza’s Rafah, a 60 square km area that borders Egypt to the south. The move is part of an announced plan to seize more areas of the enclave and is accompanied by large-scale evacuations of the population.
The Israeli military issued repeated evacuation warnings to hundreds of thousands of Palestinians across Rafah since operations resumed in Gaza on March 18. Hundreds of thousands have fled the area, forcing them into a diminishing space limited by the sea.
The encirclement began with Israel’s seizure of the Morag Axis, a former Israeli settlement located between Rafah and Khan Younis, in southern Gaza. The military announced that its troops had completed establishing the Morag route, separating Rafah from Khan Younis.
The conflict in Gaza started after Palestinian militant group Hamas attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostage. Over 50,000 Palestinians have since been killed in the offensive, according to health authorities in the Hamas-run enclave.
Israel restarted its campaign in March after abandoning a ceasefire in place since January. The Israeli military says it will continue the campaign until remaining hostages are freed and Hamas is stamped out of Gaza.
Source: https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israeli-forces-have-completed-encirclement-gazas-rafah-military-says-2025-04-12