As hostage crisis deepens, IDF awaits government decision on deal with Hamas

As fears grow over the worsening condition of Israeli hostages held in Hamas tunnels, IDF troops—who control a key bargaining chip for a potential deal—are waiting.

For nearly two weeks, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government have delayed their response to mediators, even after Hamas agreed in principle to a phased framework that would see the release of around 10 hostages and the launch of a two-month negotiation period for a broader agreement.

The bargaining chip, which daily exposes Golani and Kfir Brigade soldiers to serious risk deep inside Hamas strongholds in southern Gaza, is the IDF’s continued control over the security corridors in Khan Younis. According to IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, this control is “one of the conditions the IDF secured for the political echelon to enable a deal with Hamas.”

The IDF was expected this month to partially withdraw from two key corridors—Morag and Magen Oz—as part of the initial gestures of goodwill in return for hostage releases. Israel came close to implementing this step last month, just before talks collapsed.

These corridors, which span roughly 20 kilometers (12.5 miles), were cleared by the IDF in recent months during Operation Gideon’s Chariots I—not as a bid to defeat Hamas outright, but to create military pressure aimed at enabling a deal. While they did disrupt Hamas’ ability to move fighters and weapons between Khan Younis and Rafah, their strategic purpose was to serve as leverage in negotiations: withdrawal would be a concession in return for hostages.

A similar precedent was set in January, when Israel withdrew from the Netzarim Corridor in northern Gaza after the release of hostages. The withdrawal allowed Hamas to facilitate the return of nearly one million Palestinians from the southern Gaza Strip to the north, including some 10,000 Hamas fighters who are now regrouping in anticipation of a possible IDF ground offensive in Gaza City.

“We knowingly accepted that risk, but the more urgent need was to bring the hostages home,” said defense officials. “From the start, the Netzarim corridor was designed to be a bargaining chip—not just a tactical route for flanking Gaza City during the November 2023 offensive.”

From defensive positions to combat outposts

The newly established corridors in Khan Younis—Magen Oz running north-south along the city and Morag stretching east-west toward the flattened ruins of Rafah—are more than twice as long as the Netzarim Corridor in northern Gaza, which remains only partially open and held up to its midpoint. Maintaining control over these axes requires not only hundreds of soldiers stationed at all times in defensive positions that are gradually becoming permanent outposts, but also continuous expansion and infrastructure development.

The process includes paving roads, deploying living and operational facilities for troops, installing masts for communications and surveillance systems and flattening Palestinian buildings within a 300 to 400-meter radius on either side of the routes to reduce the risk of attacks on these outposts.

These corridors and posts lie deep inside Gaza and are distinct from the frontline buffer zone Israel has been constructing since the start of the war to prevent another October 7-style massacre.

Large crowds at a humanitarian aid distribution center at Netzarim Corridor

In the coming days, reserve soldiers are expected to take over the outposts along Magen Oz and Morag, allowing regular troops under the 36th Division to withdraw from the enclave and begin preparing for a potential maneuver into Gaza City. “About half of the division’s forces are currently engaged in defensive missions inside Khan Younis, not in offensive operations against Hamas targets,” a senior IDF officer acknowledged at the peak of Operation Gideon’s Chariots I.

These axes, while publicly framed as a means to pressure Hamas into releasing hostages, have come at a steep cost. Dozens of soldiers have been killed in fighting in Khan Younis in recent months, and hundreds have been wounded—including along these very routes. Sergeant First Class (res.) Ariel Lubliner was killed this past weekend, reportedly in a friendly fire incident. Throughout, soldiers and commanders were told the objective was not to defeat Hamas outright, but to create leverage for a deal.The IDF is acutely aware of the dangers involved in maintaining these positions. Southern Command officials have noted that Hamas is now actively targeting IDF outposts along the corridors and other fortified positions throughout Gaza, in a bid to replicate the coordinated attack launched earlier this month on a Kfir Brigade post along the Magen Oz Corridor. That attack, carried out by 15 to 20 terrorists in three teams, included a plan to abduct a soldier. Military sources say that without advance warning, the assault would likely have resulted not only in injuries, but also in multiple fatalities.

Static presence raises civilian toll and international backlash

The static deployment of IDF forces along the security corridors in Gaza is not only taking a growing toll on soldiers but also drawing international condemnation, further eroding what remains of global legitimacy for Israel’s continued war against Hamas.

One such unit stationed along the Magen Oz axis was responsible for shelling the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, claiming that a Hamas surveillance camera had been placed on the rooftop, likely in preparation for an attack. The strike killed 22 Palestinians, at least six of whom were terrorists, according to the IDF.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

(Photo: Prime Minister’s Office)

The hospital incident highlights a key vulnerability in maintaining control over the corridors—particularly in areas near the displacement camps in al-Mawasi, makeshift shelters and food distribution centers. Troops stationed along the corridors are tasked with securing these access routes, which have become chaotic scenes of mass gatherings and, at times, deadly gunfire during aid deliveries. These incidents have severely damaged Israel’s image and bolstered international claims that the IDF is committing war crimes in Gaza.

The Philadelphi Corridor—a 14-kilometer strip along the Gaza-Egypt border—has also been under Israeli military control since it was seized relatively easily in June 2024. Like Netzarim and other corridors, it has since been fortified with permanent outposts and even Israeli cell towers. Israel maintains that it must retain control of Philadelphi in any future arrangement to prevent weapons smuggling into Gaza. However, in the years leading up to October 7, most smuggled arms entered above ground via trucks, often with tacit Egyptian and Israeli acquiescence, not through tunnels, which the IDF says were mostly sealed off before the war.

The longer Israel delays its response to the current hostage deal proposal—which is directly tied to how long troops remain stationed along the security corridors in Khan Younis—the more questions arise over the true goals of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich: Is the official war aim still the return of the hostages, as declared at the outset, or are they being used as leverage to justify turning the security corridors into a long-term foothold for potential resettlement in Gaza?

The IDF has already begun planning more such routes in Gaza City in preparation for the anticipated ground offensive there. On the surface, these corridors are designed to serve tactical needs—enabling Israeli forces to isolate Hamas battalions scattered across the city’s neighborhoods during what is expected to be a prolonged operation. But given the slow, drawn-out nature of Israeli decision-making since the war began, suspicions are growing that these axes, too, may be intended for more than just short-term military use.