Netzarim was an Israeli settlement in the Gaza Strip which was built in 1972 and dismantled in 2005 during the Israeli disengagement from the territory.[16] The IDF captured the site of the former settlement during the 2008-2009 Gaza War, which ended with a ceasefire and Israeli withdrawal from the Strip.[17][18]
The IDF named the present corridor after Netzarim, since it includes the site of the former settlement.[19]
Battle
2023
The IDF captured the area that would become the Netzarim Corridor during the early stages of its invasion into the Gaza Strip. On 30 October 2023, IDF troops were confirmed to have entered the area of the former Netzarim settlement with infantry and tanks.[20][21][22] The next day Hamas claimed it attacked IDF vehicles there.[23] However, the first verified Hamas operations at the site of the former Netzarim were on 5 November.[24]
By 6 November, the IDF "had cut an informal, winding track" across the Gaza Strip which reached to the coast.[15] On 24 November, it was reported that the IDF would "continue administrative and logistical movements on the Netzarim axis and coastal road in the northern Gaza Strip".[25]Palestinian Islamic Jihad conducted two separate attacks on the Netzarim Corridor in December 2023.[26][27]
2024
Completion of the corridor was ultimately finalized between 5 March and 9 March 2024.[15]
From March to April 2024, the two sides clashed regularly in the area. The IDF launched raids into the northern and central Gaza Strip,[28][29][30] while Palestinian forces launched multiple artillery and rocket attacks on the Netzarim Corridor.[2][31][32][3] By 7 April, following a series of successive withdrawals from the Gaza Strip, the Netzarim Corridor became the only area where the IDF was deployed.[33][34]
The Foundation for Defense of Democracies reported on 8 May that the Netzarim Corridor had become "a magnet" for repeated Palestinian attacks,[1] with the Tehran Times reporting a similar observation on 20 July.[35] Nonetheless, the IDF continued military operations from the Corridor during this time. One IDF officer reported that troops have consistently found evidence of Palestinian militant activity, such as weapons and explosives, in almost every building they search near the area.[36]
On 17 August, an IED trap set by the al-Qassam Brigades was triggered in Netzarim. The Israeli army acknowledged 2 soldiers were killed, including a sergeant major.[12]
During the 1 October Iranian airstrikes on Israel, Iran claimed that some missiles they launched hit IDF positions in the Netzarim Corridor.[7][8] That same day, the IDF repelled an apparent ground attack by dozens of "Palestinian suspects" approaching the Corridor.[37] According to Palestinian medical officials, these were Gazan civilians attempting to return to their homes in the northern Gaza Strip.[38]
On 25 January, Hamas failed to release a hostage scheduled for transfer to Israel under the ceasefire's prisoner exchange. As a result, Israel suspended its planned opening up of the Netzarim Corridor. However, the release of the hostage was later arranged and Israel opened up the western part of the Corridor on the morning of 27 January, with large crowds of displaced Gazans returning to the north.[41][42] The IDF also began withdrawing from the part that was opened,[43][44] and withdrew completely from the Netzarim Corridor by the end of the day.[45][46]American and Egyptian security contractors, working under an Egyptian-Qatari committee tasked with implementing the ceasefire, began inspecting vehicles moving through the area.[47] Hamas militants were also later seen stationed at the Netzarim Corridor.[48][49]
