Before October 7, 2023, Rafah was home to 150,000 to 200,000 Palestinians. Located in the southern Gaza Strip, on the border with Egypt, the city is to be turned into a buffer zone by the Israeli army, according to Israeli media. This new no man's land is expected to extend to the Morag corridor, a road that crosses the territory from end to end and was seized by Israeli forces in recent days. Under their control, it forms a third axis of division within Gaza. Its area would reach 75 square kilometers out of the 360 that the enclave comprises – one-fifth of its territory – and would cut the strip of land from the Egyptian border.

In the center, the army has once again taken control of the other vast corridor in the enclave, the Netzarim corridor, which isolates Gaza City from the rest of the territory. In the north, it has further expanded the no man's land. Moreover, it has extended the buffer zone around the strip. Previously 300 meters wide before the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, it now measures between 800 and 1,500 meters.

A report by the Israeli NGO Breaking the Silence, The Perimeter, explains that this last space has been cleared of all culture, structures and people to offer a clear view to Israeli soldiers. They have been ordered "to deliberately, methodically, and systematically annihilate whatever was within the designated perimeter, including entire residential neighborhoods, public buildings, educational institutions, mosques and cemeteries, with very few exceptions," the report states. Some fear Rafah may face the same fate.

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