Israeli forces have paved a major road in Gaza along the southern border, in a move some commentators have taken as a sign that they have no intention of fully withdrawing from the area any time soon.
This road has become a major stumbling block in negotiations over a new ceasefire and an agreement on the release of hostages.
BBC Verify has analysed satellite imagery, photos and videos showing the construction of a road along the narrow but strategically important strip of land along Gaza’s border with Egypt, long known by its Israeli military codename, the Philadelphia Corridor.
Satellite images taken at regular intervals between August 26 and September 5 show new asphalt being laid along a section of road extending 6.4 km inland from the coast along the border fence.
A video posted online on September 4, reportedly showing construction work along a section of the border fence that evening.
Heavy machinery can be seen laying a new asphalt road wide enough to allow two large vehicles to pass.
We have also compared two images below showing the before and after laying of the tarmac. BBC Verify has confirmed the location and they show the same stretch along the border fence.
The corridor includes the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, the only border crossing in Gaza not directly controlled by Israel and critical to the delivery of aid.
The river is 12.6 km long and runs along the Egyptian border, from the Kerem Shalom crossing to the Mediterranean Sea.
While the Israeli military calls it the Philadelphia Route or Axis, Palestinians often refer to it as the Salah al-Din Axis.
“It’s not a specific, defined area,” says Dr Andreas Krieg, a senior lecturer at the School of Security Studies at King’s College London. “It’s a conceptual line. It’s understood as land adjacent to the border.”
Israel previously withdrew from the area in 2005, when it withdrew its troops and settlers from Gaza.
But on May 7 of this year, it re-entered the Philadelphia Corridor with tanks and armored personnel carriers, months before paving began on the road.
Troops took control of the Rafah crossing and then began advancing northwest along the corridor and toward the nearby southern town of Rafah.
Over the past four months, the Israeli army has destroyed hundreds of buildings near the corridor with airstrikes and artillery, as well as through controlled demolitions with explosives and bulldozers.
One village, Al Qarya as Suwaydiya, on the Mediterranean side of the border, has been razed to the ground and now appears to be functioning as an Israeli base.
Corridor important for peace talks
“Paving the road puts pressure on negotiators and mediators. The Israelis are trying to create a fait accompli,” says Dr. Krieg.
“It also suggests that Israel will not fully withdraw from Gaza anytime soon,” he said.
He quotes a road built by Israeli forces through northern Gaza earlier this year – known as the Netzarim Corridor.
“If you look at the investments that have been made in the Netzarim Corridor, it is clear that they do not plan to withdraw anytime soon. They have concrete barriers, forward bases with towers and walls. You don’t build those if you plan to withdraw.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has described the Philadelphia Corridor as a “lifeline” for Hamas and has been adamant that Israel must maintain a military presence there as a condition of any deal.
At a news conference on Wednesday, he added: “If you want to destroy Hamas’ military and administrative capabilities, you cannot let Hamas rearm. So you have to control the corridor.”
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi said on August 14 that “the Philadelphia Corridor is important because it is about strengthening our position. We are preparing for all scenarios that the political level may determine.”
Retired Egyptian Major General Dr. Samir Faraj, now a commentator on military strategy, said Israel’s aim was “psychological warfare… paving the road is a media war, a war in which Israel sends a message to different parties that they will not leave.”
We asked the Israeli army why the road is now being paved, but have not yet received an answer.
Israel Determined to Destroy Tunnels
According to Netanyahu, Hamas used tunnels under the corridor to smuggle weapons and people through Egypt before the October 7 attack on Israel that sparked the war in Gaza.
He is confident that Israeli forces stationed there will prevent the group from rearming and ensure it never poses a threat again.
During a visit to the corridor last month, Mr Gallant said was quoted as saying: “We have destroyed 150 tunnels in the Philadelphia Corridor, which spans the Gaza-Egypt border.”
BBC Verify has located detonations in videos shared by the IDF from the Philadelphia Corridor – including one which is said to involve “destruction of underground infrastructure,” but we cannot confirm what exactly is being destroyed.
We have also seen photos and videos – again shared by the Israeli military – of a large tunnel in the corridor.
Satellite imagery shows evidence of severe surface soil disturbance at all of these locations, and at other locations along the border.
Additional reporting by Lamees Altalebi and Joshua Cheetham
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