Israeli troops deploy to a new security corridor across southern Gaza

TEL AVIV, Israel — Israeli troops deployed to a newly established security corridor across southern Gaza, the military announced Saturday, as pressure on the Hamas militant group increased weeks into the renewed war.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday announced the new Morag Corridor and suggested it would cut off the southern city of Rafah, which Israel had ordered evacuated, from the rest of Gaza.

A military statement said troops with the 36th Division had been deployed. It was not immediately clear how many, or where exactly the new corridor was located. Morag is the name of a Jewish settlement that once stood between Rafah and Khan Younis, and Netanyahu had suggested it would run between the cities.

Maps published by Israeli media showed the corridor running the width of the narrow coastal strip from east to west.

Netanyahu had said it would be ‘’a second Philadelphi corridor,‘’ referring to the Gaza side of the border with Egypt farther south, which has been under Israeli control since last May.

Last month, Israel shattered a ceasefire in Gaza with a surprise bombardment after trying to pressure Hamas to accept proposed new terms for the truce that had taken hold in January. Hundreds of Palestinians have been killed.

Israel quickly reasserted control over the Netzarim corridor that cuts off the northern third of Gaza, including Gaza City, from the rest of the strip. The Philadelphi and Netzarim corridors run from the Israeli border to the Mediterranean Sea.

‘‘We are cutting up the strip, and we are increasing the pressure step by step, so that they will give us our hostages,‘’ Netanyahu said Wednesday. His defense minister has said Israel would seize large areas of Gaza and add them to its so-called security zones.

Saturday’s announcement came shortly after a White House official confirmed that Netanyahu on Monday would again meet with President Donald Trump, their second meeting at the White House since Trump took office in January. The U.S. has been a mediator in ceasefire talks, along with Egypt and Qatar, but also supported Israel’s resumption of fighting.

Following his previous meeting with Netanyahu, Trump made the surprise proposal that displaced Palestinians in Gaza be permanently resettled outside the territory and he suggested that the United States take ‘’ownership’’ in redeveloping the area. Palestinians, Arab nations and rights groups sharply criticized the idea.

Israel has pledged to escalate the fighting with Hamas until the militant group returns the remaining hostages taken in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that sparked the war, disarms and leaves the territory.

Israel last month again halted all supplies of food, fuel and humanitarian aid to Gaza in another application of pressure on the militant group and the territory’s over 2 million Palestinians. Rights groups say the tactic is a war crime. Gaza relies largely on humanitarian aid, and its residents cannot easily leave.

Hamas says it will only release the remaining 59 hostages — 24 believed to be alive — in exchange for the release of more Palestinian prisoners, a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. The group has rejected demands that it lay down its arms or leave the territory.

The Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians. Some 251 hostages were taken, most of them released in ceasefire agreements and other deals.

More than 50,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza during Israel’s offensive, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. It doesn’t say whether they are civilians or combatants but says the majority have been women and children. Israel says it has killed around 20,000 militants, without providing evidence.

Among Gaza’s dead are 15 Palestinian medics killed last month by Israeli forces, who then bulldozed over the bodies along with their mangled vehicles, burying them in a mass grave.

The war is the deadliest and most destructive fighting ever between Israel and Hamas. It has left much of Gaza devastated and most of its residents displaced, often multiple times.

Families of hostages at their weekly rally again pleaded for a ceasefire deal to bring everyone home from Gaza, alive or dead.

‘‘Netanyahu is working hard to ensure our hostages die, rather than working hard to save their lives,‘’ said Efrat Machikawa, niece of hostage Gadi Moses.

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Associated Press writer Fatima Hussein in West Palm Beach, Florida, contributed.

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Follow AP’s war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war