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Israel Expands ‘Security Annexation’ in Gaza

Palestinians inspect a United Nations building after it was hit by an Israeli airstrike in Jabalia, northern Gaza, on April 2, 2025 (Associated Press)
Palestinians inspect a United Nations building after it was hit by an Israeli airstrike in Jabalia, northern Gaza, on April 2, 2025 (Associated Press)
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Israel Expands ‘Security Annexation’ in Gaza

Palestinians inspect a United Nations building after it was hit by an Israeli airstrike in Jabalia, northern Gaza, on April 2, 2025 (Associated Press)
Palestinians inspect a United Nations building after it was hit by an Israeli airstrike in Jabalia, northern Gaza, on April 2, 2025 (Associated Press)

As Israel expanded its military operations in Gaza and the West Bank, far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir sparked Palestinian outrage by entering the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said he plans to seize large areas of land in Gaza and turn them into “security zones,” as well as in the West Bank to bolster Jewish settlements.

On Wednesday, Katz announced that Israeli forces would move into the Gaza Strip "to cleanse areas of terrorists and infrastructure" and seize large swaths of land to expand Israel's security zones.

The statement followed the deployment of an additional Israeli brigade in southern Gaza as part of an escalation in the offensive. The Israeli army’s Radio reported that the 36th Armored Division is leading the new ground operation in Gaza.

The Israeli military also ordered the complete evacuation of the Rafah area along the southern Gaza border, initiating incursions in the region, including targeting vast areas between Rafah and Khan Younis. This marks the largest evacuation order since Israel resumed its offensive in Gaza on March 18, ending a two-month ceasefire.

Field sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that Israeli forces have effectively taken control of areas in Rafah and are attempting to push further into other parts of the city, making it largely under their control.

The sources added that the incursion has begun in certain areas, while the military maintains fire control over others. It is expected that the forces will reach these areas at any moment, including parts of the southeastern region of Khan Younis, which lies close to Rafah.

In a provocative move, Ben-Gvir led an incursion into the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound on Wednesday. Since taking office as National Security Minister, Ben-Gvir has entered the site more than eight times, a move that has sparked widespread outrage and condemnation.

Saudi Arabia strongly condemned the incursion, under the protection of Israeli police, and the eviction of worshippers. The Kingdom reiterated its condemnation of Israel's ongoing flagrant violations of the mosque's sanctity.

In a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Saudi Arabia also condemned the Israeli forces’ targeting of a clinic run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza.

The Kingdom expressed its concern over the continued Israeli attacks on UN agencies, humanitarian organizations, and their workers.

Saudi Arabia emphasized the need to protect UN agencies, humanitarian organizations, and their personnel, urging the international community to take action to end Israel's relentless military actions, which disregard human values and international laws.

The Kingdom warned that the international community’s failure to deter such grave and persistent violations would undermine the prospects for achieving lasting peace, erode the credibility and legitimacy of international law, and negatively affect regional and global security and stability.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Document Written by Arafat Helped Israel Recover Body of Israeli Soldier Missing for 43 Years

The Walla website published a secret document written by late Palestinian president, Yasser Arafat, who referred to the presence of three graves located in the cemetery of Yarmouk camp in Syria 
The Walla website published a secret document written by late Palestinian president, Yasser Arafat, who referred to the presence of three graves located in the cemetery of Yarmouk camp in Syria 
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Document Written by Arafat Helped Israel Recover Body of Israeli Soldier Missing for 43 Years

The Walla website published a secret document written by late Palestinian president, Yasser Arafat, who referred to the presence of three graves located in the cemetery of Yarmouk camp in Syria 
The Walla website published a secret document written by late Palestinian president, Yasser Arafat, who referred to the presence of three graves located in the cemetery of Yarmouk camp in Syria 

The body of Israeli soldier Tzvi Feldman, who went missing since the Battle of Sultan Yacoub between Israel and Syria in June 1982, have been returned to Israel in a special operation carried out by commando forces after the collapse of Bashar al-Assad's regime, Israeli reports said on Sunday.

During the operation, Israeli warplanes carried out intensive raids on several locations around the place to protect the forces and hide their traces.

Military sources in Tel Aviv said that the mission was conducted months ago, enabled by old intelligence and advanced operational capabilities.

However, the sources added, non-Israeli agents, operating on behalf of the Mossad, had a cover story and had been inside Syria for several years to collect information on the location of Feldman’s body.

In the past five months, following the fall of Assad regime, the agents operated “under fire” and visited a graveyard several times, obtaining various findings that were sent to Israel for identification.

When findings matched Feldman’s DNA, the Israeli team recovered the full body and brought it home.

According to Army Radio, the operation lasted for months, with the final identification of the body coming over the past weekend.

Al-Sharaa Government Not Involved in Operation

Sources said that following the fall of Assad regime, there were breakthroughs in Feldman’s case and an opportunity to recover his remains.

Although the Israeli operation was conducted under the new Syrian government led by Ahmed al-Sharaa, the latter was not involved in the operation, they said.

Security officials emphasized that the operation didn’t involve any cooperation by the new Syrian government, denying recent reports of indirect talks between Israel and al-Sharaa in this regard.

The sources said that intelligence that helped carry out the operation were completely separate from efforts related to Hamas’ abduction of Israeli prisoners in the Gaza Strip.

They said the massive efforts to find the hundreds of Israelis who were abducted by Hamas on Oct. 7 were concentrated in a newly established Abductees Command under retired Maj.-Gen. Nitzan Alon, allowing the Repatriation Department to continue its work behind the scenes, even during the war.

Other sources in Tel Aviv said information about the fate of Israeli soldiers who were missing in the Battle of Sultan Yacoub during the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon, were uncovered in July 2021. At the time, the Israeli intelligence discovered a secret document written by late Palestinian president, Yasser Arafat, who referred to the presence of three graves located in the cemetery of the Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp on the outskirts of the Syrian capital Damascus.

The Walla website showed a copy of the document that it said was provided by a “non-Israeli” source, and written more than 20 years ago.

The document is a handwritten note on an official paper from the Palestinian Authority presidential office. The source claimed the document was written by Yasser Arafat.

The letter did not specify whether the graves belonged to the Israeli soldiers killed in the Battle of Sultan Yacoub, however, it included a detailed map of three graves in the Yarmouk camp, where members of the PLO factions were buried after 1980.

When the document was uncovered in 2021, Israel asked for Russia’s assistance to identify whether the location included the bodies of its missing soldiers, particularly that in 2019, Moscow had helped Netanyahu recover the body of Zachary Baumel from the Yarmouk refugee camp.

On Sunday, Netanyahu tried to benefit from the recovery of Feldman’s body. He personally visited his family in Tel Aviv, accompanied by his military secretary and the coordinator for hostages and missing persons, to deliver the news.

“For decades, Tzvi was listed as missing, and the efforts to locate him—alongside the other soldiers missing from that battle—never ceased. Six years ago, we brought back Staff Sergent Zachary Baumel for burial in Israel. Today, we bring back Tzvi. We will not stop until we bring home Staff Sgt. Yehuda Katz, who is still missing from that same battle.”

The prime minister then extended his gratitude to “the Mossad, the Israeli Army, the Shin Bet, and Hostage and Missing Persons Coordinator Gal Hirsch for their decades of dedicated, determined and courageous efforts to bring Tzvi home—and to return all of our missing and captive, living and fallen alike.”

He said, “Israel and my government are fully committed to this mission.”

Israeli Paratroopers

Meanwhile, the Israeli Army announced on Sunday that after five months of operational activity in the Golan Heights and Syria, soldiers of the Paratroopers Brigade have completed their mission on the northern border.

It said the troops are now preparing, as part of the 98th Division, for additional missions in the Gaza Strip ahead of the effort to expand the operations in the area.

“In the coming days, the Paratroopers Brigade will be replaced by reserve troops, who will continue their activity in Syria,” the statement said, adding that the Army will continue to operate across all arenas in order to protect the citizens of Israel.