Israel Strikes Settlement To Expand Control Of Gaza Corridor

JAKARTA - Israeli soldiers continue to blow up a number of houses and residential buildings around the Netzarim Corridor and the Philadelph Corridor in the war-torn Gaza Strip, according to local sources.

Several buildings were detonated around the Netzarim Corridor in the Zeitoun neighborhood located southeast of Gaza City and the city of Al-Zahra in the south of the city, one of the sources told Anadolu, Wednesday, September 18, reported by ANTARA.

Israeli troops also destroyed several residential buildings near the Philadelph Corridor in Rafah, southern Gaza, near the border with Egypt, another local source said.

According to the source, the house explosion aims to expand Israel's military presence in the area and consolidate Israeli controls around the two corridors.

These two corridors have become the point of dispute in negotiations aimed at reaching a ceasefire in Gaza and a prisoner swap agreement between Israel and Hamas.

While Israel insisted on maintaining military presence in the two corridors, Hamas requested a full withdrawal of Israel from the Gaza Strip.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed several times not to withdraw troops from the corridors, thus hampering efforts to reach a ceasefire and a prisoner swap deal with Hamas.

For months, the US, Qatar, and Egypt have been trying to reach an agreement between Israel and Hamas to ensure exchanges of prisoners and ceasefires and allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza.

However, mediation efforts were hampered by Netanyahu's refusal to fulfill Hamas' demands to stop the war.

Israel continues to carry out brutal attacks on the Gaza Strip following cross-border attacks by the Palestinian Hamas group on October 7, despite UN Security Council resolutions calling for an immediate ceasefire.

More than 41,200 people, mostly women and children, have been killed, and more than 95,400 people have been injured, according to local health authorities.

Israeli attacks have left almost all Palestinians in the region displaced many times amid a continuing blockade, leading to severe shortages of food, clean water, and medicines.

Israel faces allegations of genocide at the International Court for their actions in Gaza.