Israeli forces on Wednesday sealed al-Rashid coastal road, Gaza City’s final functioning corridor linking the Strip’s north, centre and south, effectively isolating the city and hampering the movement of civilians, ambulances and aid, residents and officials said.
The route — once used by families and aid convoys — now operates as a one-way passage heading south under army oversight, with tanks and checkpoints controlling traffic, according to accounts to The New Arab (TNA). Despite evacuation pressure, local estimates say roughly 600,000 people remain in the city, either unable or unwilling to move.
With Salah al-Din Road blocked since March, the closure turns Gaza City into a pocket surrounded by rubble, military positions and drone surveillance. Residents described tank incursions near homes and intermittent fire that deter movement. “They told us to go south… I turned back,” said Umm Mohammed al-Jarousha from al-Jalaa.
Health services have further deteriorated. The Health Ministry said ambulance access is severely restricted, disrupting urgent operations at Al-Shifa Hospital amid shortages of fuel, medicines and staff exhaustion. Schools are sheltering displaced families; bakeries and water supplies are running at minimal capacity.
Some residents told TNA they would not head south, fearing overcrowded camps and insecurity. “We are being erased slowly,” said Ahmed al-Turk. Abu Mustafa, who said his son’s body remains under rubble, added: “I won’t escape from death to hell.”
Analysts and activists called the closure part of a broader policy to pressure civilians southward. Ramallah-based analyst Hani al-Masri described the one-way corridor as a tool to “forcibly reshape Gaza’s population.” Human rights advocates condemned the use of road closures as a warfare tactic that undermines civilian protection.
The move comes as Washington circulates a new political proposal reportedly welcomed by Israel’s prime minister, but residents say conditions on the ground continue to worsen. Civil defence spokesperson Mahmoud Basal warned that cutting the last safe route for aid risks a citywide collapse.
Local reports estimate more than 234,000 Palestinians have been killed, injured or are missing since the war began; Gaza’s Health Ministry says over 66,000 have been killed, mostly women and children. Those figures could not be independently verified.