**JERUSALEM**
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Wednesday that the Israeli military would seize control of the Morag Corridor in Gaza, mirroring its control of the Philadelphi one.
“We are taking control of the Morag Corridor, which will be an additional Philadelphi Corridor,” Netanyahu said in a video statement, according to Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper.
He added that the military attempted to secure the Morag Corridor on Tuesday night.
Located between Khan Younis and Rafah in southern Gaza, the Morag Corridor is named after a former Israeli settlement evacuated in 2005. The Philadelphi Corridor, along the Gaza-Egypt border, has been under Israeli control since May 2024.
“We will increase pressure (through fighting and the blockade) in Gaza step by step until we bring back the hostages,” Netanyahu stated, referring to 59 Israeli captives Tel Aviv estimates remain in Gaza, including 24 believed alive.
Meanwhile, over 9,500 Palestinians languish in Israeli prisons, enduring torture, starvation, and medical neglect that has killed many, according to Palestinian and Israeli human rights and media reports.
Israel began a surprise aerial campaign on Gaza on March 18 and has since killed more than 1,000 people and injured over 2,500, shattering a January ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement between Israel and the Palestinian resistance group Hamas.
More than 50,400 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza in Israel's military onslaught since October 2023, most of them women and children.
The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for 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.
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