TEL AVIV: Israel has dramatically expanded its footprint in the Gaza Strip since relaunching its war against Hamas last month. It now controls more than 50 percent of the territory and is squeezing Palestinians into shrinking wedges of land.
The largest contiguous area the army controls is around the Gaza border, where the military has razed Palestinian homes, farmland and infrastructure to the point of uninhabitability, according to Israeli soldiers and rights groups. This military buffer zone has doubled in size in recent weeks.
Israel has depicted its tightening grip as a temporary necessity to pressure Hamas into releasing the remaining hostages taken during the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that started the war. But the land Israel holds, which includes a corridor that divides the territory’s north from south, could be used for wielding long-term control, human rights groups and Gaza experts say.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said last week that even after Hamas is defeated, Israel will keep security control in Gaza and push Palestinians to leave.
The demolition close to the Israeli border and the systematic expansion of the buffer zone has been going on since the war began 18 months ago, five Israeli soldiers told The Associated Press.
“They destroyed everything they could, they shot everything that looks functioning ... (the Palestinians) will have nothing to come back, they will not come back, never,” a soldier deployed with a tank squad guarding the demolition teams said. He and four other soldiers spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.
A report documenting the accounts of soldiers who were in the buffer zone was released Monday by Breaking The Silence, an anti-occupation veterans group. A handful of soldiers — including some who also spoke to AP — described watching the army turn the zone into a vast wasteland.
“Through widespread, deliberate destruction, the military laid the groundwork for future Israeli control of the area,” said the group.
Asked about the soldiers’ accounts, the Israeli army said it is acting to protect its country and especially to improve security in southern communities devastated by the Oct. 7 attack, in which some 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage. The army said it does not seek to harm civilians in Gaza, and that it abides by international law.
Carving Gaza into sections
In the early days of the war, Israeli troops forced Palestinians from communities near the border and destroyed the land to create a buffer zone more than a kilometer (0.62 miles) deep, according to Breaking The Silence.
Its troops also seized a swath of land across Gaza known as the Netzarim Corridor that isolated the north, including Gaza City, from the rest of the narrow, coastal strip, home to more than 2 million people.
When Israel resumed the war last month, it doubled the size of the buffer zone, pushing it as far as 3 kilometers into Gaza in some places, according to a map issued by the military.
The buffer zone and the Netzarim Corridor make up at least 50 percent of the strip, said Yaakov Garb, a professor of environmental studies at Ben Gurion University, who has been examining Israeli-Palestinian land use patterns for decades.
Last week, Netanyahu said Israel intends to create another corridor that slices across southern Gaza, cutting off the city of Rafah from the rest of the territory. Israel’s control of Gaza is even greater taking into account areas where it recently ordered civilians to evacuate ahead of planned attacks.
Neighborhoods turned into rubble
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians used to live in the land that now makes up Israel’s buffer zone, an area that was key to Gaza’s agricultural output.
Satellite images show once dense neighborhoods turned to rubble, as well as nearly a dozen new Israeli army outposts since the ceasefire ended.
Israel’s bombardment and ground offensives throughout the war have left vast swaths of Gaza’s cities and towns destroyed. But the razing of property inside the buffer zone has been more methodical and extensive, soldiers said.
The five soldiers who spoke to the AP said Israeli troops were ordered to destroy farmland, irrigation pipes, crops and trees as well as thousands of buildings, including residential and public structures, so that militants had nowhere to hide.
Several soldiers said their units demolished more buildings than they could count, including large industrial complexes. A soda factory was leveled, leaving shards of glass and solar panels strewn on the ground.
Soldier alleges buffer zone was a ‘kill’ zone
The soldiers said the buffer zone had no marked boundaries, but that Palestinians who entered were shot at.
The soldier with the tank squad said an armored bulldozer flattened land creating a “kill zone” and that anyone who came within 500 meters of the tanks would be shot, including women and children.
Visibly shaken, he said many of the soldiers acted out of vengeance for the Oct. 7 attack.
“I came there because they kill us and now we’re going to kill them. And I found out that we’re not only killing them. We’re killing them, we’re killing their wives, their children, their cats, their dogs, and we destroyed their houses,” he said.
The army said its attacks are based on intelligence and that it avoids “as much as possible, harm to non-combatants.”
Long-term hold?
It is unclear how long Israel intends to hold the buffer zone and other territory inside Gaza.
In announcing the new corridor across southern Gaza, Netanyahu said Israel aims to pressure Hamas to release the remaining 59 hostages, of whom 35 are believed dead. He also said the war can only end when Hamas is destroyed and its leaders leave Gaza, at which point Israel would take control of security in the territory.
Then, Netanyahu said, Israel would implement US President Donald Trump’s call to move Palestinians from Gaza, what Israel calls “voluntary emigration.”
Some Israel analysts say the purpose of the buffer zone isn’t to occupy Gaza, but to secure it until Hamas is dismantled. “This is something that any sane country will do with regard to its borders when the state borders a hostile entity,” said Kobi Michael, a senior researcher at two Israeli think tanks, the Institute for National Security Studies and the Misgav Institute.
But rights group say forcibly displacing people is a potential war crime and crime against humanity. Within Gaza’s buffer zones, specifically, it amounts to “ethnic cleansing,” because it was clear people would never be allowed to return, said Nadia Hardman, a researcher at Human Rights Watch.
Israel called the accusations baseless and said it evacuates civilians from combat areas to protect them.
Israel controls 50% of Gaza as Palestinians get squeezed into shrinking wedges of land
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Israel controls 50% of Gaza as Palestinians get squeezed into shrinking wedges of land
- The largest contiguous area the army controls is around the Gaza border, where the military has razed Palestinian homes, farmland and infrastructure to the point of uninhabitability
Israeli PM Netanyahu says 21 hostages alive, doubts over three others
- The fate of the hostages is a visceral issue for most Israelis and one that has caused increasing disquiet and division in Israeli society as the war has dragged on
JERUSALEM: Three Israeli hostages in Gaza previously thought to be living may be dead, leaving 21 definitely believed to be alive, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday, confirming comments made by US President Donald Trump.
Speaking at an event at the White House on Tuesday, Trump said 24 hostages were alive a week ago but the figure was now 21. He did not cite a source or provide further details.
Gal Hirsch, Israel’s coordinator for hostage issues, had said in a post on X that the Palestinian militant group Hamas was holding 59 hostages of whom 24 were alive and 35 dead — figures unchanged since before Trump spoke.
Netanyahu’s comments appeared to confirm the figure cited by Trump.
“We know for certain that 21 are alive — that’s not in dispute. There are three others where, unfortunately, it’s uncertain whether they’re alive,” Netanyahu said in filmed remarks posted on social media.
A spokesperson for a group representing hostage families said: “The headquarters again calls on the prime minister to stop the war until the return of the last abductee. This is the most urgent and important national task.”
The fate of the hostages is a visceral issue for most Israelis and one that has caused increasing disquiet and division in Israeli society as the war has dragged on. A total of 251 people were taken hostage during the Hamas attacks on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, in which some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed, according to Israeli tallies.
Most of the hostages returned alive to Israel so far were released as part of deals with Hamas during two temporary ceasefires in late 2023 and early 2025.
Since the abductions, Israel has responded with an air and ground assault on Gaza that has killed more than 52,000 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run health authorities there, and reduced much of the enclave to ruins.
The government says its two war aims are to destroy Hamas and release the hostages. This week it has announced an expansion of its offensive on Gaza, causing hostage families to fear this will further endanger their loved ones.
World Central Kitchen halts work in Gaza as supplies run out
- WCK said it would continue to support Palestinian families by distributing critically needed potable water where possible
- Israel has faced growing international pressure to lift an aid blockade
CAIRO: The US-based World Central Kitchen charity has halted work in the Gaza Strip, saying on Wednesday it had run out of supplies and been prevented by Israel from bringing in aid.
“After serving more than 130 million total meals and 26 million loaves of bread over the past 18 months, World Central Kitchen no longer has the supplies to cook meals or bake bread in Gaza,” it said in a post on X.
The charity said it would continue to support Palestinian families by distributing critically needed potable water where possible, but vital food distribution cannot resume until Israel allows aid back into the enclave.
“WCK trucks loaded with food and cooking fuel have been ready at the Gaza border since early March. Additional food and equipment are ready to be shipped to the border from Jordan and Egypt,” said World Central Kitchen, which was founded by celebrity chef Jose Andres.
Israel has faced growing international pressure to lift an aid blockade that it imposed in March after the collapse of a US-backed ceasefire that had halted fighting for two months.
Israel has accused agencies, including the United Nations, of allowing large quantities of aid to fall into the hands of Hamas militants, who it accuses of seizing supplies intended for civilians and using them for their own forces. Hamas denies the allegation and accuses Israel of using starvation as a weapon against the population.
Growing lootings of community kitchens, stores of local merchants, and UN headquarters have prompted Hamas security forces to crack down on local gangs. Hamas executed at least six gang members last week, according to sources close to the group.
UN humanitarian agency OCHA has said more than 2 million people — most of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million — face severe food shortages.
F/A-18 fighter jet goes overboard from US carrier in the Red Sea
- The incident Tuesday marks the latest mishap to mar the deployment of the Truman
DUBAI: An F/A-18 fighter jet landing on the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier in the Red Sea went overboard, forcing its two pilots to eject, a defense official said on Wednesday.
The incident Tuesday marks the latest mishap to mar the deployment of the Truman, which has been essential in the airstrike campaign by the US against Yemen’s Houthi rebels.
The F/A-18 Super Hornet landed on the Truman after a flight, but “the arrestment failed,” said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity about the incident now under investigation.
“Arrestment” refers to the hook system used by aircraft landing on carriers, which catches steel wire ropes on the flight deck. It remains unclear what part of the system failed.
The two pilots on board were later rescued by a helicopter and suffered minor injuries in the incident, the official added. No one on the flight deck was hurt.
Tuesday’s incident was the latest to see the Navy lose an F/A-18, which cost about $60 million. In April, another F/A-18 fighter jet slipped off the hangar deck of the Truman and fell into the Red Sea. The crew members who were in the pilot seat of the Super Hornet and on the small towing tractor both jumped away.
In December, the guided-missile cruiser USS Gettysburg mistakenly shot down an F/A-18 after ships earlier shot down multiple Houthi drones and an anti-ship cruise missile launched by the rebels. Both aviators in that incident also survived.
And in February, the Truman collided with a merchant vessel near Port Said, Egypt.
The Truman, based out of Norfolk, Virginia, has seen its deployment extended multiple times amid the Houthi airstrike campaign. It had been joined recently by the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier operating out of the Arabian Sea.
Syria’s Sharaa confirms indirect talks with Israel to ease tensions
- Ahmed Al-Sharaa said random Israeli interventions have violated the 1974 armistice agreement
- He called on the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force to return to the Blue Line of separation
PARIS: President Ahmed Al-Sharaa said Wednesday that Syria was holding “indirect talks” with Israel to calm tensions between the two countries, following Israeli strikes and threats against Syria since Bashar Assad’s ouster.
“There are indirect talks (with Israel) taking place through mediators to calm the situation and try to contain the situation so it does not reach the point where it escapes the control of both sides,” Sharaa told a press conference in Paris alongside French President Emmanuel Macron.
“Random Israeli interventions... have violated the 1974” armistice, Sharaa said, adding that “since we arrived in Damascus, we have told all relevant parties that Syria is committed to the 1974 agreement.”
Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes on the country since Assad’s December ouster and has said it wants to prevent advanced weapons from falling into the hands of the new authorities, whom it considers jihadists.
Israeli troops have also entered the UN-patrolled buffer zone along the 1974 armistice line on the Golan Heights and carried out incursions deeper into southern Syria.
Sharaa said the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force must “return to the Blue Line of separation,” adding that UNDOF had made a number of visits to Damascus.
Macron condemned Israeli strikes on Syria, saying they would not guarantee “Israel’s long-term security.”
“As for bombings and incursions, I think it’s bad practice. You don’t ensure your country’s security by violating the territorial integrity of your neighbors,” Macron said.
Sharaa said that “we are trying to speak with all countries that are in contact with the Israeli side to pressure them to stop interfering in Syria’s affairs, violating its airspace and bombing some of its facilities.”
Sharaa said he and Macron discussed “the ongoing Israeli threats,” adding that “Israel has bombed Syria more than 20 times in the past week alone... under the pretext of protecting minorities.”
Israel’s military said it launched strikes near Damascus’s presidential palace early Friday after the country’s defense minister threatened intervention if Syrian authorities failed to protect the Druze minority, after sectarian clashes in Druze areas last.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz said the move was a “clear message” to Syria’s new rulers.
The clashes came after a wave of massacres in March in Syria’s Alawite heartland on the Mediterranean coast.
Lebanon’s tourism hopes rise as ties with Arab Gulf states warm
- Analysts say influx of affluent visitors and government reforms could revive battered tourism sector — provided security holds
- The UAE’s decision to lift Lebanon travel ban sparks optimism among hoteliers and tourism professionals after years of crisis
BEIRUT: At the boutique hotel of Albergo in Achrafieh, Beirut, a large table of Gulf citizens sat having breakfast last week as a waitress attended to them. This once-common sight had become a rarity in recent years, making the moment particularly significant for the staff.
“We haven’t seen this in years,” the waitress told Arab News. “We are expecting more reservations to come through and more Gulf citizens to be staying with us this summer.”
For the first time in many years, Lebanese hoteliers, restaurant and shop owners and retailers are hoping for a successful tourism comeback. The latest piece of good news came when the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced last Sunday that the ban on Emirati citizens traveling to Lebanon would be lifted from May 7.
Once a favored summer destination hub for Gulf and neighboring Arabs, Lebanon had been struck by one misfortune after another since the 2006 Israeli-Hezbollah war. Despite a relatively calm decade afterward, the 2020 port explosion followed by a devastating economic collapse and the growing power of Iran-backed Hezbollah had left the country in tatters.
Rampant corruption and Hezbollah’s powerful presence soured the once warm Lebanese-Gulf relations. In 2021, both Saudi and Emirati citizens were banned from traveling to the country after a Lebanese minister criticized Arab Gulf intervention on the side of the UN-backed Yemen government against the Houthis, another Iran-backed militia. The Kingdom also halted all its fruit and vegetable imports from Lebanon in the same year after shipments were found to be carrying the illicit Captagon drug smuggled inside.
FAST FACTS
• Lebanon’s tourism sector ranks as the second most vital revenue stream after expatriate remittances.
• The Hezbollah-Israel war inflicted an estimated damage of $14 billion on Lebanon’s economy.
• Despite the November ceasefire deal, Israel continues to strike Beirut, south Lebanon and Bekaa Valley.
With the devastating blows suffered by Hezbollah and allied militant groups last year during their war with Israel, the tide appears to be turning. The deaths of Hassan Nasrallah and other important Hezbollah figures and a stunning pager attack, which left thousands of its fighters and supporters immobile if not dead, have significantly weakened the once-powerful militia that had Lebanon in a prolonged chokehold.
The new Lebanese government, headed by President Joseph Aoun, seems determined to usher the country into a new era, going as far as removing flags and symbols of the militant group. Although the fate of international aid still hangs in the balance, structural and economic changes are expected of the new Lebanese government, alongside the full disarmament of Hezbollah.
According to the World Bank, during the 14-month Israeli-Hezbollah war that started shortly after the events of October 7, 2023, and the war in Gaza, the estimated damage and economic loss in Lebanon stands at $14 billion, with the country needing $11 billion for reconstruction.
Arab world policies, particularly from the Arab Gulf states, seem to be softening. In March, Saudi Arabia announced it would review “obstacles” to resuming Lebanese imports and ending the ban on its citizens visiting Lebanon. This announcement came after President Aoun met Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh on his first trip abroad since taking office in January.
The UAE’s loosening of restrictions on travel to Lebanon followed a meeting between President Aoun and UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed in Abu Dhabi last week. “This decision confirms the return of confidence in Lebanon and opens the door to developing the historical ties that unite the two countries,” Laura Al-Khazen Lahoud, Lebanon’s minister of tourism, said.
She expressed hope that “the remaining Gulf Cooperation Council countries will follow the UAE’s step the soonest possible, so that Lebanon can once again become a destination for its Arab brothers and a center for tourism and cultural activity in the region.”
Lahoud, who was appointed tourism minister in February 2025, has been actively working to restore trust in Lebanon’s tourism sector. With her background as executive director of the legendary Al-Bustan hotel and vice president of the Al-Bustan Music Festival, Lahoud brings valuable industry experience to her ministerial role.
Lebanon has long relied on the tourism sector, making it a pillar of its GDP and a major source of income and employment. In 2019, prior to the COVID pandemic, Lebanon welcomed 1.95 million international visitors, generating over $8 billion in tourism revenue that accounting for nearly 19 percent of the country’s GDP.
Numbers have steadily plummeted since. In 2023, the tourism sector still accounted for an estimated 30 percent of the country’s GDP, bringing in $6 billion in revenue. Lebanon’s tourism sector, generating over $5 billion annually in recent years, ranks as the country’s second most vital revenue stream after expatriate remittances, which officially approach $7 billion.
The golden era of Lebanese tourism, when hotels boasted occupancy rates above 80 percent for 100 summer days, now seems like a distant memory. In 2010, Beirut recorded an impressive 72 percent annual occupancy rate. Last summer, however, this figure dropped to an average of just 60 percent on weekends and plummeted to 20-25 percent on weekdays — well below the threshold needed for profitability.
Owing to the decline in tourism the country witnessed last year as a result of the protracted Israel-Hezbollah war, when most airlines even canceled their flights to and from the war-torn country, Lebanon’s tourism sector continues to navigate troubled waters.
Khalaf Al-Habtoor, the head of Al-Habtoor Group, a multi-billion-dollar Dubai conglomerate with interests ranging from luxury hotels to shopping malls, had expressed an intention in January to invest in Lebanon once a new government was formed.
However, a week later, he announced in a post on X: “After consulting with the board of directors of the Al-Habtoor Group, I have made a painful decision that I never wanted to reach. However, the prevailing circumstances in Lebanon — marked by a lack of security, stability, and any foreseeable improvement — have compelled us to take this step.”
Despite the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon’s government announced on Nov. 26, 2024, Israeli military airstrikes in Beirut, southern Lebanon and parts of the Bekaa Valley are still taking place, sometimes with little or no warning, prompting many countries to warn their citizens against traveling to Lebanon.
“I swear to you, we are tired. We are tired from just getting by,” says Rasha, a beautician at a hair salon in Beirut. “We have one of the most beautiful countries in the world; we used to barely have time to sit down, it was one customer after the other in the summertime, but that hasn’t been the case for years.”
Rasha and her husband are the owners of the salon and have been running the business for 20 years, nestled in the streets near Sassine Square. “You see how the Syrians got their freedom? We are on the way to ours. We are tired of being held down and I think the new government realizes that. We really aren’t asking for much here. Just bring the happiness and the hope back,” she said, referring to the “golden days” when tourists flocked to the country and financial strain was not crippling every other household.
Hospitality industry executives say they can see signs of renewal. Pierre Achkar, president of the Syndicate of Hotel Owners, told a local newspaper in February that restoration efforts are underway across all Lebanese regions, with preparations progressing rapidly to welcome visitors as in previous years.
He said the current political climate and ongoing changes have encouraged tourism business owners to implement needed reforms ahead of the summer season. He added that the current momentum aligns with positive signs pointing to a potentially vibrant tourism season, reminiscent of Lebanon’s past.
For his part, Jean Abboud, president of the Syndicate of Owners of Travel and Tourism Offices in Lebanon, emphasized last month the sector’s preparedness, stating that “our travel agencies are fully prepared to support the expected tourism rebound this summer.”
In an interview with a Lebanese TV channel, Achkar said he had sent a proposal to the Prime Minister’s Office to help bolster the country’s hospitality sector. In it, he called for the reopening of the Rene Mouawad airport in the country’s north for budget airlines and, more broadly, for the reintegration of Lebanon into the regional tourism market.
While the traditional hotel sector has experienced a decline, guesthouses and boutique hotels in Beirut are experiencing growing success. With their smaller scale and personalized service, these establishments continue to attract a loyal and expanding local and regional clientele.
Cautious optimism permeates the city. Several well-known hotels such as Le Gray, a five-star hotel in downtown Beirut, are set to reopen, promising more employment opportunities and a sense of hope for the Lebanese community.
For now, less affluent regional visitors — Syrians, Jordanians, Iraqis and Egyptians — continue to fill hotel rooms in Beirut, while Qataris and Kuwaitis, who have long made Lebanon their summer destination, remain barred from entry for now.
A brighter outlook comes from the expected increase in the number of Lebanese expatriates returning home this summer. The hope is that the government will remain committed to state building, including addressing the issue of illegal weapons.
Adding to the cautious optimism is the UAE’s recent decision to lift its travel ban on citizens visiting Lebanon. This move could prompt other Gulf states to follow suit. However, travel remains subject to conditions: Emirati citizens must register through the Foreign Ministry’s Tawajudi service and specify their place of residence in Lebanon, among other requirements.
Looking ahead, Achkar, head of the Syndicate of Hotel Owners, emphasized the sector’s broader ambitions. He said Lebanon is aiming for a year-round tourism model, much like other countries.
With its diverse offerings — from religious and recreational tourism to culinary, nature-based, and adventure experiences — Lebanon, he noted, is well positioned to attract visitors beyond the traditional summer season.
