Satellite images show how Israel is opening the Gaza highway

Israeli forces have paved a key road in Gaza along the southern border – in what some analysts see as a sign that they are not ready to fully withdraw from the area anytime soon.

The road has become a major sticking point in negotiations for a new deal to end the war and release hostages.

BBC Verify analyzed satellite images, photos and video showing the emergence of a road along a small but important strip of land that runs the length of the Gaza-Egypt border, long known by its Israeli military name: the Philadelphia Corridor.

Between 26 August and 5 September, a satellite image captured periodically shows new paving along a section of road that is being extended 6.4km inland from the coast along the border fence.

A video posted online on September 4 showing construction work, reportedly in the evening, near the border fence.

Heavy equipment is seen laying new tarmac wide enough for two large vehicles to pass through.

We’ve also compared the two photos below showing the before and after asphalt placement. BBC Verify has confirmed the location and shows the same location near the border fence.

The corridor connects the Rafah crossing with Egypt – the only crossing into Gaza that is not directly controlled by Israel and the key to the delivery of aid.

At 12.6 kilometers long, it runs along the Egyptian border from Kerem Shalom across the Mediterranean Sea.

While the Israeli military calls it the Philadelphia Route or the Axis, the Palestinians often refer to it as the Salah al-Din Axis.

“It’s not a specific, isolated area,” said Dr Andreas Krieg, senior lecturer in the School of Security Studies at King’s College London. “It’s a line of thinking.

Israel previously withdrew from the area in 2005, when it withdrew troops and settlers from Gaza.

But it re-entered the Philadelphia Corridor on 7 May this year with tanks and armored personnel carriers (APCs) – months before the start of road repairs.

The army took control of the Rafah crossing and began to move north-west along the tunnel and into the nearby southern town of Rafah.

Over the past four months, the IDF has destroyed hundreds of buildings along the corridor with airstrikes and shelling, as well as controlled demolitions with explosives and bulldozers.

One village – Al Qarya as Suwaydiya – at the end of the Mediterranean border – has been leveled and now appears to be serving as an Israeli base.

“Repairing the road puts pressure on negotiators and mediators. The Israelis are trying to make a fait accompli,” said Dr. Krieg.

“It also suggests that Israel will not withdraw completely from the Gaza Strip soon,” he said.

He quotes a road built earlier this year by the Israeli army runs through northern Gaza – known as the Netzarim Corridor.

“If you look at the investments in the Netzarim Corridor, it is clear that they are not willing to withdraw soon, they have tangible barriers, forward operating bases with towers and walls – you don’t build those when you plan. in withdrawing.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has described the Philadelphia Corridor as a “lifeline” for Hamas, and has insisted that Israel maintain a military presence there as a condition of any deal.

At a press conference on Wednesday, he added: “You want to destroy the military power and the rule of Hamas, you cannot allow Hamas to attack again. So you have to control the tunnel.”

The head of the IDF, Lt General Herzi Halevi, said on August 14, “The Philadelphia Tunnel is important because it is responsible for strengthening our position. We are preparing for all the conditions that the political level can take.”

Retired Egyptian Major General Dr. Samir Faraj, now a military analyst, said Israel’s goal is “psychological warfare…

We asked the Israeli soldiers why they are coming to the street now but they did not get an answer.

Mr Netanyahu says Hamas used tunnels under the tunnel to smuggle weapons and people through Egypt before Israel’s attack on the 7th, which started the war in Gaza.

He believes that Israeli soldiers have been deployed there to prevent the group from re-arming and to ensure that it does not become a threat again.

During a visit to the corridor last month, Mr Gallant he was quoted as saying: “We destroyed 150 tunnels in the Philadelphia Corridor, which crosses the Gaza-Egypt border.”

BBC Verify found the explosion on video, shared by the IDF, in the Philadelphia Corridor – including one saying it shows “destruction of underground infrastructure” – but we cannot confirm what is being destroyed.

We also saw photos and video – again, shared by the IDF – of one large tunnel in the corridor.

All of these areas, as well as others along the border, show signs of significant surface soil disturbance in satellite imagery.

Additional reporting by Lamees Altalebi and Joshua Cheetham