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Buffer zones

Israel has been enforcing a buffer zone inside Gaza since at least the early 2000s. In September 2005, after the implementation of the Gaza Disengagement Plan, the Israeli military issued notice that Gaza residents must keep a distance of at least 150 metres from the perimeter fence. After Hamas came to power in Gaza in 2007, Israel gradually began to enforce access restrictions in larger areas, spanning 300 metres to one kilometre from the fence.

According to rights group Gisha, reports in the Israeli and international media reveal that Israel has been working, since November 2023, to create a ‘new buffer zone’ that would stretch about a kilometre into Gaza running along the Gaza side of the fence and cover at least 16% of Gaza’s total territory.

Occupation forces have also retaken control of the ‘Netzarim Corridor’, which spans 6.5km from the perimeter fence to the sea. The military has expanded and repaved the road and it is now used exclusively for Israeli military movement. According to an Al Jazeera investigation, when taken together, the Netzarim Corridor and the new buffer zone account for an effective takeover of 32% of Gaza’s total area.

Israel’s control of the Netzarim Corridor divides Gaza’s north and south, limiting the movement of Palestinians and stopping them from returning to their homes and neighbourhoods.

It has also taken control of the ‘Philadelphia Corridor’, a strip of land along the Gaza-Egypt border. In doing so, Israel has breached a 2005 agreement with Egypt, leading to increased tensions with Cairo.

While expanding the ‘buffer zone’, the occupation state declared areas ‘safe zones’, forcibly expelling Palestinians from their homes to these so-called ‘safe zones’. However, since the start of Israel’s bombing campaign, Palestinians have said there is no safe place in Gaza, as Israel has targeted ‘safe zones’ as well as refugees as they travel to these areas under orders of the occupation forces.

Concept, research and text: Sara Khalil

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