Establishment of Gaza Strip Buffer Zone; Zionist Forces Destroy and Permanently Occupy 32% of the Territory (Map)

The buffer zone covers an area of 58 square kilometers, accounting for 16 percent of the total Gaza Strip area. In this zone, at least 4,100 buildings have been completely destroyed. Previously, the buffer zone depth was 300 meters, but the Israeli army increased it to around 1 kilometer in recent months.

Additionally, in the Netzarim axis in central Gaza Strip, an area of 49 square kilometers, or 13.5 percent of the Gaza Strip, has been occupied by the Israeli army, with residential buildings completely destroyed. The Netzarim axis was established during the Israeli army’s ground operations to cut off land connections between Gaza City and southern Gaza Strip. The Zionist regime has established four bases in this axis to consolidate its positions and enhance its presence and influence.

Here’s a rephrased version:

In the Philadelphia axis south of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, the Israeli army has occupied 12 square kilometers, equivalent to 3 percent of the total Gaza Strip area. To maintain a permanent presence, the Israeli military has destroyed at least 6,932 buildings in this zone.

Consequently, approximately 32.5 percent of the Gaza Strip is currently destroyed and occupied by the Israeli military. These areas are permanently occupied by Israeli forces, with troops stationed there constantly. In other areas of the Gaza Strip, the presence of Zionist forces manifests through short-term, temporary operations and raids.

The extensive and total destruction of buildings in these areas has made it impossible for the Palestinian refugees to return.

In recent months, the Israeli army has laid the groundwork for the permanent occupation of parts of Gaza and the creation of buffer zones by conducting several military operations in the north, center, and south of the Gaza Strip. According to Israeli claims, these buffer zones and the continuous presence of Israeli soldiers aim to tighten the siege on Gaza’s resistance forces and, in turn, reduce attacks on Israeli settlements around Gaza.

However, recent actions by resistance fighters indicate that the presence of Israeli soldiers has not completely halted their attacks. Despite the buffer zones and the continuous raids by Israeli soldiers in various parts of the Gaza Strip, rocket attacks by resistance groups persist.

The establishment of buffer zones and the complete withdrawal of Israeli soldiers from Gaza have long been contentious issues in negotiations between Hamas and the Israeli regime. Recently, there has been speculation about the possible withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Netzarim and Philadelphi axes as part of an initial ceasefire agreement, but this has not yet been confirmed, and negotiations are still ongoing without specific conclusions.