File photo : Displaced Palestinians cross the Netzarim corridor as they make their way to the northern parts of the Gaza Strip on February .AFP
"Over the past 24 hours, IDF soldiers have begun a targeted ground operation in the central and southern Gaza Strip in order to expand the security zone between the northern and southern parts," army spokesman Avichay Adraee said on X. "For your safety, movement along Salah al-Din Road between the northern and southern parts of the Gaza Strip, in either direction, is prohibited."
An official from Gaza's interior ministry told AFP the Israeli army had closed what it calls Netzarim corridor, on Salaheddin Road just south of Gaza City, on Wednesday evening.
The official said that Israeli tanks had deployed at the junction, where the road artery crosses Israel's main supply route, "following the withdrawal of American special security forces yesterday (Wednesday) morning".
He was referring to American private security contractors deployed in February after the pullback of Israeli forces under the terms of a January 19 ceasefire.
Thousands of Palestinians had returned in February to their homes in northern Gaza via Salah al-Din Road. The route saw a reverse wave of displacement, with families who had fled due to Israeli military escalation making their way back, hoping for lasting calm and stability in the region.
However, on Tuesday, Israel shattered the truce deal by resuming its bombardment of Gaza, killing more than 500 Palestinians, most of them women and children.
A spokesman for Hamas said Israel’s closure of the Salahuddin road, is part of Israel’s “blockade on Gaza.”
“The Zionist occupation, under American cover and international silence, is destroying life in Gaza and reneging on the signed agreement,” Abdel-Latif al-Qanou said in a statement Wednesday.
Israel has closed all Gaza’s border crossings since the beginning of the month and banned the entry of food and other supplies. There had been a surge of humanitarian aid into Gaza during the ceasefire.
The advances on the ground by Israel on Wednesday — which included sending more troops to southern Gaza — threatened to drag the sides into all-out war again. The ceasefire had given war-weary Palestinians some respite, allowed a much-needed surge of humanitarian aid into Gaza.
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