Israel closes main route from northern Gaza to south despite ceasefire

The Israeli army closed Salah al-Din Street, a route designated by Israel for safe passage from northern Gaza to the south, in the latest violation of a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement with Hamas, Israeli media said on Wednesday.

“For the first time since the ceasefire began, Israeli tanks closed Salah al-Din Street in Netzarim, south of Gaza City, in the northern direction,” the Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth reported.

It noted traffic remains open southward along the route, previously used by displaced Gazans to return north by vehicle. The coastal Al-Rashid Street west of Gaza stays accessible, allowing pedestrian travel north.

The closure “is an additional means of pressure” on Hamas and Palestinians, the Israeli daily added, claiming it also aims to “block more gunmen from crossing from southern to northern Gaza, after thousands already did so when the army withdrew from the Netzarim Corridor about a month and a half ago.”

No official Israeli statement had been issued by 3:10 p.m.

Hamas condemned the Israeli move as a “total overturn” of the ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement, deepening Gaza's siege and strangling its people.

The movement said it welcomes any proposal advancing phase-two talks and a permanent ceasefire.

At least 436 people were killed and over 670 others injured in renewed Israeli airstrikes in Gaza since Tuesday, shattering the ceasefire agreement that took hold in January.

Nearly 50,000 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, and over 112,000 others injured in a brutal Israeli military campaign in Gaza since October 2023.

In November 2024, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.