Inside the Secret Battle Over Gaza’s Future: The One Strip Israel Refuses to Abandon
Israel insists on maintaining control of the strategic Morag Axis and building a humanitarian city to separate Gazan civilians from Hamas fighters. Security fears and strategic priorities fuel the deadlock.
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According to multiple sources familiar with the talks, Hamas is demanding a full withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Morag Axis as a condition for finalizing the agreement. Israel has rejected this, citing national security concerns and plans to build a “humanitarian city” in the area — a controlled zone meant to host displaced Gazans under strict IDF oversight.
Israeli military officials argue that retaining control of the corridor is essential to monitor and screen the hundreds of thousands of Gazans expected to return to Rafah, many of them from areas heavily bombed during the war. The IDF intends to establish checkpoints along the axis to prevent Hamas fighters from blending back into the civilian population.
Government officials see the proposed humanitarian city as a key part of the "day after" strategy: a secure and orderly zone with basic infrastructure, tent compounds, and permanent buildings. Aid delivery to Gaza would be funneled through this area, encouraging the population to concentrate in one place — away from Hamas control.
However, Hamas strongly opposes the plan, viewing it as an Israeli attempt to re-engineer Gaza’s demographics and entrench military control. The terror group has rejected the humanitarian city proposal outright, which now stands as one of the main obstacles to a hostage agreement.
Israeli sources say the fear is that a full IDF withdrawal could repeat past failures — such as the disastrous opening of the Netzarim corridor during the 2000s, which allowed thousands of armed militants to flood into Gaza’s cities.
The dispute has sparked tension within Israel’s security leadership. According to Channel 12, Prime Minister Netanyahu clashed with IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir over the pace of implementation. “There’s nothing left to wait for — we must move forward,” Netanyahu reportedly told Zamir in a heated cabinet session.
At the core of the Israeli plan is a larger strategy to decouple Hamas from Gaza’s civilian population — creating new civilian frameworks, encouraging voluntary migration, and restoring a semblance of order in the war-torn south of the Strip.