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London Transport Zones

London is divided into 1–9 zones*, but most of it fits into zones 1–6. Central London is zone 1, zone 2 is the ring around zone 1, zone 3 is the ring around 2 and so on.

*zones 7,8 and 9 cover a small area just outside North West London including Watford, Croxley Green, Rickmansworth, Amersham or Chalfont & Latimer.

It’s important to be aware of London’s transport zones and to find out what zone a station is in. Ticket prices for One Day, Weekly or Monthly Travelcards or the money deducted from a Pay as you go Oyster card or contactless card can vary considerably according to how many zones you travel through.

The zones do not apply to bus travel . You can travel by bus all over London (zones 1–6) with any Travelcard.

First time visitor to London? See our guide to London’s transport tickets

London zone map

You can see the zones on a tube map, coloured in either white or grey.

• View a standard PDF version of the tube map
• If you stay in a part of London that is not on the tube network, see the National Rail services map (pdf) to find the zone for your closest train station.

What London transport zones do I need?

Find the closest underground or train station to your accommodation. Then find the zone of the station you want to travel to. If you’re visiting London for sightseeing or to shop this will probably be zone 1.

When you know the zones you need to pay for, what you do depends on the type of ticket/pass you buy:

Weekly or monthly Travelcards

You buy a Travelcard that covers all the zones between where you stay and where you want to visit/your regular final destination. For example:

• if you stay in Shepherd’s Bush (zone 2) and plan to visit central London (zone 1), you need a zone 1-2 Travelcard.
• If you stay in Wimbledon (zone 3) and travel to/from central London, you need a zone 1-3 Travelcard.

Pay as you go Oyster card

If you use a Pay as you go Oyster card , top-up your card with enough money to either pay for a single journey for the zones you travel through or add enough money to cover the cost of the ‘daily cap’ if you want unlimited travel for the day.

Contactless

With a contactless card, you do not have to worry about the zones as the system will calculate the fare for you the next day. Remember to always touch in and out on the tube or local trains (with the same card!) to ensure you are charged the correct amount.

How to pay for transport outside your normal transport zone

There may be occasions when you need to travel outside the zones on your weekly or monthly Travelcard.

The procedure is slightly different if you have a Travelcard loaded on an Oyster card, or a paper Travelcard:

Travelcards on an Oyster card

If you already have a weekly Travelcard for certain zones and want to visit a place outside that zone, top-up your Oyster card with some Pay as you go money to cover the cost of travelling between the last zone on your Travelcard and the zone you want to visit.

For example, if you have a zone 1-2 weekly Travelcard and you want to visit Richmond in zone 4, you need to add extra money to your Oyster to cover the fare for zones 3 and 4.

See Oyster single fares to find a fare. You can add extra money to your Oyster card at a tube station ticket machine.

Paper Travelcards

If you have a paper version of the Travelcard, you need to buy an extension ticket from the underground station ticket machine.

Stations in two zones

Some stations are on the border of two zones. These stations have a white box around their name on the tube map. Tickets to these stations are slightly different.

For example:

• Earl’s Court tube station is in zone 1/2. If you stay in Earl’s Court and take the tube to any other station in zone 1 (central London), you pay the zone 1 single fare with a pay as you go Oyster or contactless card.
• If you travel from Earl’s Court to Heathrow (zone 6), the single fare is charged from zone 2 to zone 6, not from zone 1-6.
• ABBA Arena is in zone 2/3. From zone 1, you pay the zone 1-2 fare. If you are staying in outer London and are travelling to the stadium without travelling through central London (zone 1), you pay the the fare to zone 3.

How to save money on travel to central London from zones 2-6

A major benefit of the Travelcard is that it’s valid on the buses for the whole of London, regardless of the zones you buy.

If you stay in zones 2-6 and want to travel to zone 1 (central London) a good money-saving tip is to buy a weekly or monthly Travelcard excluding zone 1 , but including zone 2. You can then take the tube/train to the zone 2 station close to zone 1 and then use the bus to travel to and around zone 1.

This only works with a weekly or monthly Travelcard, but you will save a money.

• If you stay in zone 5, a zone 1-5 weekly Travelcard is  £73.00 .
• A zone 2-5 weekly Travelcard is £42.50 , saving you £30.50 a week
• A zone 1-5 monthly Travelcard is  £280.40
• A zone 2-5 monthly Travelcard is  £163.20 a saving of £111.70 a month

Popular places to visit outside central London (Zone 1)

Tourist attractions.

Chiswick House – zone 2 (Turnham Green) Cutty Sark – zone 2 Dulwich Picture Gallery – zone 2 Ham House – zone 4 Hampton Court Palace – zone 6 Kenwood House – zone 2 (Archway) Kew Gardens – zone 3 National Maritime Museum – zone 2 Osterley House – zone 4 RAF Museum Hendon – zone 4 William Morris Gallery – zone 3

Westfield London (Shepherd’s Bush/White City) – zone 2 Westfield Stratford – zone 2/3 Camden Market – zone 2

Sport and music venues

The O2 – zone 2/3 Twickenham Rugby Stadium – zone 5 Wembley Stadium – zone 4 Emirates Stadium – zone 2 ABBA Arena – zone 2/3 (See stations in two zones above)

Greenwich – zone 2 Richmond – zone 4 Wimbledon – zone 3

Related pages

• One Day & Weekly Travelcards including zone 1
• Weekly & monthly Travelcards excluding zone 1
• Oyster cards
• Contactless cards
• Bus tickets & passes

Last updated: 23 February 2024

Transport tickets & passes

• Guide to London's transport tickets
• One day & weekly Travelcards
• Zone 2–6 weekly Travelcards
• Bus tickets & passes
• Oyster card
• Oyster single tickets
• Oyster card refunds
• Child tickets & passes
• Local train tickets

Useful information

• Plan your journey
• London transport zones

Popular pages

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• Congestion Charge
• 2 for 1 discounts at London attractions
• Top free museums & galleries
• Cheap eating tips
• Heathrow to London by underground

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US 50 bridge closed west of Gunnison due to safety concerns

Travel advisory.

Gunnison and Montrose Counties  — A safety closure is in place for a bridge on US Highway 50 located west of Gunnison. The Colorado Department of Transportation is closing the bridge at the urging of the Federal Highway Administration and state bridge engineering experts due to the findings of an ongoing safety inspection, which identified anomalies in the bridge on Thursday, April 18. The closure is in place between US 50 Mile Point 131 (intersection with Colorado Highway 92) and MP 138. Local traffic will be allowed through the closure point to reach residences. Motorists should use COtrip to plan an alternate route. See below for more information about the northern and southern recommended alternate routes. CDOT has set up an incident command and will coordinate with local, state and federal agencies in order to respond as quickly and effectively as possible. CDOT has been conducting a special inspection for high-strength steel bridges for the Blue Mesa bridges as required by the Federal Highway Administration. This inspection was required because of known issues with similarly constructed bridges elsewhere in the country. A defect was observed during an early investigation of the bridge at approximately Mile Point 136.3. CDOT immediately brought in a second inspection crew with resources to perform another method for testing whether the defect posed a safety hazard on the bridge. The second inspection took place on Thursday, April 18.  CDOT is continuing to assess the safety of the bridge and to quickly determine options for interim and permanent fixes – and will keep the public informed as soon as more information is available. The bridge closure is located between Gunnison and Montrose. It is located east of the US 50 Little Blue Creek Canyon project, which is currently in a planned winter shutdown.

Recommended Alternate Routes

This closure will create a significant detour for commuters between Montrose and Gunnison. The recommended detour route for through traffic is via Interstate 70 to the north or US 160 to the south. CDOT understands the inconvenience that this creates and is rapidly evaluating options to improve options for residents, businesses, and travelers on the western slope. The northern route is 354 miles and requires approximately six hours of travel time. The southern route is 331 miles and requires nearly 7 hours of travel time. CDOT and local partners are exploring whether it is feasible at this point in the season to clear local seasonal routes that may be able to significantly reduce the detour time for local travelers. 

Know Before You Go

Travelers are urged to “know before you go.” Gather information about weather forecasts and anticipated travel impacts and current road conditions prior to hitting the road. CDOT resources include:

• Road conditions and travel information: COtrip.org
• Download the COtrip Planner app: bit.ly/COtripapp
• Sign up for project or travel alerts: bit.ly/COnewsalerts
• See scheduled construction lane closures: bit.ly/laneclosures
• Connect with @ColoradoDOT on social media: Twitter , Facebook , Instagram and YouTube

Remember: Slow For The Cone Zone

The following tips are to help you stay safe while traveling through maintenance and construction work zones.

• Do not speed in work zones. Obey the posted speed limits.
• Stay Alert! Expect the unexpected.
• Watch for workers. Drive with caution.
• Don't change lanes unnecessarily.
• Avoid using mobile devices such as phones while driving in work zones.
• Turn on headlights so that workers and other drivers can see you.
• Be especially alert at night while driving in work zones.
• Expect delays, especially during peak travel times.
• Allow ample space between you and the car in front of you.
• Anticipate lane shifts and merge when directed to do so.
• Be patient!

Download the COtrip App!

The new free COtrip Planner mobile app was designed to meet the growing trend of information on mobile and tablet devices for the traveling public. The COtrip Planner app provides statewide, real-time traffic information, and works on mobile devices that operate on the iOS and Android platforms. Visit the Google Play Store (Android devices) or the Apple Store (iOS devices) to download!

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10 Ridiculously Spacious Weekender Bags You’ll Want on Hand for Travel This Year — Up to 50% Off at Amazon

Prices start as low as $21 on these functional and stylish duffels.

If you click on links we provide, we may receive compensation.

Travel + Leisure / Daisy Rodriguez

On certain short vacations, it doesn’t necessarily make sense to pack up your bulky rolling suitcase. Namely, weekend trips. When you’re planning on only being away from home for just a few days, a spacious weekender bag is really all you need to get the job done, and Amazon has proven once again to be the go-to destination for all of your travel needs.

Whether you’re gearing up for a bachelorette trip , a beachside getaway, or even a staycation in your own city, we’ve uncovered the 10 weekender bags currently on sale at Amazon that are about to make your packing experience so much easier. Best of all, prices start as low as just $21.

Vera Bradley Women’s Cotton Weekender Travel Bag

Vera Bradley has been making spacious and reliable duffel bags for years, and this cotton tote is perfect for anything from a short weekend getaway to even longer adventures thanks to the luggage sleeve at the back of the bag that makes it stackable atop your rolling suitcase. Top-carry handles alongside an adjustable shoulder strap make traveling with this bag easy and comfortable, while a multitude of exterior and interior mesh pockets make way for impressive organization. Plus, the entire bag is machine washable so you can rinse away the dirt and grime of the airport once you’ve arrived home. 

Etronik Travel Weekender Bag

If you’ve been eyeing the viral Béis weekender bag but can’t swing the price tag, this best-seller from Etronik is an excellent, wallet-friendly alternative that boasts impressive packing capacity alongside a number of compartments for maximum organization. The roomy primary pocket offers ample space for all of your favorite clothing that you might want to pack for your trip, while the base of the bag is fitted with a special shoe compartment to keep the remnants of filthy city streets away from your clean laundry. Air vents in the shoe compartment ensure that your bag will never get stuffy (even during longer trips), and right now the top-rated tote is on sale for just $36 at Amazon.

Hyc00 Travel Weekender Overnight Bag

Simple, spacious, and reliable, this best-selling tote bag from Hyc00 is a worthy bag selection for overnight and weekend travel, and can even be repurposed as a gym bag in the interim. The 35-liter capacity has room for several days’ worth of clothing, shoes, and toiletries, while a water-resistant exterior is great for traveling during the rainy spring months. The modest size of this bag is airplane compliant, securing its spot as a convenient carry-on, and a simple trolley sleeve also makes this bag a great stackable option alongside a larger rolling suitcase. It even contains a built-in laptop compartment and wet pocket to meet all of your travel needs.

Soaeon Canvas Travel Overnight Weekender Bag

This luxurious and astoundingly spacious weekender bag is a standout choice for travelers (and also currently available for just $38 at Amazon) because not only does it have the packing capacity for up to four days, but it also unzips like a traditional suitcase to allow for even more organized packing. The details of this bag set it apart from competitors as it features durable leather handles, a sturdy, waterproof exterior, and reinforced stitching that will keep it in prime shape for years to come. Just don’t forget to clip the additional 10 percent off coupon at checkout for even more impressive savings.

Foundry Fit & Fresh Art Deco Weekender Bag

Overpackers will be thrilled to get their hands on this exceptionally large weekender bag that’s best suited for long car rides, trips to the beach, or any other occasion when you plan on packing a large volume of items. This tote measures 22 inches by 18 inches by 12 inches, allowing ample space for more than everything you’ll need — just note that it’s not likely a great choice for taking on an airplane. A wide zipper at the top of the bag alongside several interior zippered pockets make it easy to keep your belongings organized and secure, and when this bag is not in use, the canvas material allows it to be easily folded up and kept out of the way. At just $21, you can upgrade your travel experience even on a budget.

Bagsmart Travel Quilted Weekender Bag

Bagsmart excels at crafting high-quality travel gear at affordable prices, and this quilted weekender bag is on sale for just $27 in time for your spring travels ahead. This tote is perfectly suited for air travel and will easily fit in the overhead compartment of most commercial airlines; plus, it comes with a comfy and adjustable shoulder-carry strap, a convenient trolley sleeve, and a portable shoe bag to keep your clothes clean and separated. With enough space to pack for up to a four-day trip, this versatile carry-on is a reliable choice for any trips you have on the agenda for the coming months.

Wogarl 4-piece Weekender Bag Set

Get the most bang for your buck with this four-piece luggage set from Wogarl that not only comes with a weekender bag, but also a shoe bag, a toiletry tote, an additional dopp kit, and even a matching purse. A luggage sleeve at the back of the bag makes it easily stackable for week-long adventures, while a water-resistant exterior promises to keep your belongings safe during any inclement weather you may encounter during your travel days. Plus, the base of the bag features another hidden compartment that’s an excellent place to store your dirty laundry, making for a streamlined unpacking experience once you arrive home. 

Ibfun Weekender Bag

Looking to add some personality to your luggage selection this season? Well, this Ibfun weekender duffel is poised to be a great travel companion thanks to its spacious primary compartment, reinforced and reliable design, and roomy shoe pocket that’s lined with waterproof material to take on rainy weather in style. Right now, this convenient carry-on is double discounted to just $35 at Amazon, and it even boasts enough space to pack for up to four days of traveling (or a weekend trip if you’re an overpacker). And with a bonus toiletry kit and purse included, you can’t go wrong in scoring this unbeatable deal.

Beulptn Small Weekender Bag with Shoe Compartment

Minimalist packers will find this compact weekender to be a worthy addition to their travels — especially considering it’s on sale for just $24 at Amazon. Small enough to fit underneath most airplane seats (and inside of overhead bins), this weekender is truly ideal for two-day trips. It’s lightweight, durable, and conveniently designed to keep your belongings well-organized and in place, and it even features a hidden shoe pocket on the side for a single pair of your favorite kicks. 

S-Zone Canvas Overnight Weekender Bag

If you’re shopping for a no-fuss bag that offers incredible packing capacity, a sturdy design, and even an expandable primary compartment, this duffel from S-Zone is sure to become your go-to choice — and it’s a whopping 50 percent off at Amazon. A canvas exterior accentuated with leather top-carry handles and other detailing creates a luxurious finish to this refined bag, while it’s the perfect size to function as a carry-on during your next flight. Rivets at the bottom of the bag add valuable reinforcements that help it stand on its own, and an adjustable and removable shoulder-carry strap is the cherry on top of this perfect weekender.

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Shohei Ohtani finding comfort zone with scandal (mostly) behind him. Watch out, MLB teams.

WASHINGTON – Shohei Ohtani was a dominant, charismatic player before he joined the Los Angeles Dodgers .

Yet in the month since he got ensnared in a theft and gambling scandal allegedly perpetrated by his former interpreter , Ohtani has brought connection to a higher level.

Connection, as in destroying the baseball with almost every swing , ranking in the 98th to 100th percentile in the six most important indexes measured by Statcast, including a 95.1 mph average exit velocity.

And connection, as in, utilizing his resources around him – teammates, coaches and support staff in his new home at Dodger Stadium.

Although this late-April sample is still small, the results have been startling: Ohtani is batting .371 with six home runs, getting on base at a .433 clip, hitting the ball harder with greater frequency – 61.7% – than anyone in baseball.

MLB SALARIES: Baseball's top 25 highest-paid players in 2024

Wednesday night, he destroyed baseball after baseball against the Washington Nationals, doubling three times - with exit velocities of 115.6, 105.7 and 101.9 mph - and proving again that in 2024, he's virtually impossible to pitch to.

"He's in a class by himself," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said after the laser display.

Whether it’s at all a matter of heightening his focus after interpreter and personal assistant Ippei Mizuhara admitted to taking money from Ohtani – Mizuhara was ultimately charged with felony bank fraud – is virtually unknowable.

But the Dodgers and Ohtani – who discussed his scalding start before Wednesday's game – are liking what they’re seeing since the Mizuhara affair broke loose in South Korea on March 20.

“I see him more. Before, you just see him when he gets in the batter’s box,” says Roberts. “He’s around a lot more, which is a good thing, too.

“I think he’s doing a good job with everyone.”

For Ohtani, 29, Mizuhara was not just an interpreter but a consigliere of sorts, confidant and general fixer. Ultimately, Ohtani let him get a little too much control of his personal affairs.

Perhaps Ohtani is appreciating a more compartmentalized existence.

When asked what was different since Mizuhara was fired by the Dodgers , Ohtani deadpanned: “The new interpreter is probably really good. Excellent,” he said of Will Ireton, as interpreted (apparently accurately) by Ireton himself.

On the real, Ohtani said the ongoing IRS investigation prevented greater candor.

“But,” he said Wednesday, “it’s made me really realize how supportive the teammates, the organization, the staff has been toward me. It’s allowed me to reflect on how grateful I am to be surrounded by them.”

It’s clear the comfort level is high. Ohtani works easily through the Dodgers clubhouse, his command of English seeming even better than during his six seasons with the Los Angeles Angels.

He playfully knocks helmets with first base coach Clayton McCullough after singles, twists his body like Freddie Freeman to celebrate doubles, and, on Tuesday night returned to a dugout filled with teammates awestruck by his 118.7 mph home run .

It was the hardest-hit homer of his career, even if the 450 feet it traveled wasn’t the farthest. And it was emblematic of how Ohtani has fulfilled the wishes of Roberts and hitting coaches Robert Van Scoyoc and Aaron Bates.

Roberts huddled with Ohtani last week and wanted him to be more selective, to not expand when pitchers attacked him with runners on base. The hitting coaches offered mechanical tweaks.

It’s everyone else that’s had to duck.

“With Shohei, it’s not just the slug, it’s so much as how hard he consistently hits the baseball,” says Roberts. “I can’t imagine a player hitting it that often, that hard, that consistently. That’s what’s remarkable to me.

“Even in years past, I’d see him get infield hits, but everything he hits, it seems it’s 110 off the bat. Versus left, versus right. From where he was a year ago to now is truly remarkable.”

Indeed, his average exit velocity has ticked up from a career high of 94.4 mph one year ago. Whether he can maintain this 95.1 mph clip all year is an open question, but anecdotally, he’s not to be doubted.

At this point, Ohtani seems virtually unattackable at the plate.

“To be able to cover the top down, and then front to back, and slug – he’s in a class by himself,” says Roberts. “To hit a fastball at the top of the zone which he can cover and ride out a breaking ball down below as he turns really quickly, and has the ability to ride a ball out, that’s the two ends of the spectrum I can’t wrap my head around.”

As if to prove Roberts' pregame point, Ohtani dismantled another baseball in his first at-bat Wednesday night, scorching a double to right center field that registered 115.6 mph off the bat, following up his hardest-hit ball in the majors this year a night earlier.

Quick study?

“It was more about really being proactive,” Ohtani says of his recent adjustments, “so that it allows me to have quality at-bats moving forward.”

Quality might be the understatement of the year.

“He just stays connected,” says Roberts, speaking of Ohtani’s moving parts as he hunts a pitch and uncurls his 6-foot-4, 210-pound frame.

Increasingly, that describes his presence around the Dodgers, too.

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The trains and stations of the Moscow Metro

2 Comments · Posted by Alex Smirnov in Cities , Travel , Video

The Moscow Metro is the third most intensive subway system in the world after Tokyo and Seoul subways. The first line was opened on May 15, 1935. Since 1955, the metro has the name of V.I. Lenin.

The system consists of 12 lines with a total length of 305.7 km. Forty four stations are recognized cultural heritage. The largest passenger traffic is in rush hours from 8:00 to 9:00 and from 18:00 to 19:00.

Cellular communication is available on most of the stations of the Moscow Metro. In March 2012, a free Wi-Fi appeared in the Circle Line train. The Moscow Metro is open to passengers from 5:20 to 01:00. The average interval between trains is 2.5 minutes.

The fare is paid by using contactless tickets and contactless smart cards, the passes to the stations are controlled by automatic turnstiles. Ticket offices and ticket vending machines can be found in station vestibules.

Tags:  Moscow city

You might also like:

The bridge over Zolotoy Rog Bay in Vladivostok

The views of St. Petersburg from the TV tower >>

Tomás · August 27, 2012 at 11:34 pm

The Moscow metro stations are the best That I know, cars do not.

Alberto Calvo · September 25, 2016 at 8:57 pm

Great videos! Moscow Metro is just spectacular. I actually visited Moscow myself quite recently and wrote a post about my top 7 stations, please check it out and let me know what you think! :)

http://www.arwtravels.com/blog/moscow-metro-top-7-stations-you-cant-miss

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511 Travel Info

News releases

April 18, 2024

Latest news releases

Full-summer overweight permits start April 26 in the North-Central frost zone

ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Minnesota Department of Transportation will start full-summer overweight permits in the North-Central frost zone on Friday, April 26, at 12:01 am.

Full-summer overweight permits have already started in the South, Central and Southeast frost zones. Seasonal load limit (frost) zones and restricted routes can be found on the MnDOT load limits map . Start and end dates and other load limit information are shown at mndot.gov/loadlimits . Overweight permits for more than 80,000 pound gross vehicle weight will continue and new permits will be issued if all axle and group weights are legal ( axle weight limits ). MnDOT will report start and end dates on its 24-hour automated message center at 1-800-723-6543 for the U.S. and Canada, and locally at 651-366-5400 for the Minneapolis/St. Paul area. For questions about legal axle weight during SLR; Gross Vehicle Weight Schedule, call: Minnesota Department of Public Safety State Patrol – Commercial Vehicle Enforcement 651-350-2000

For questions about oversize/overweight loads/permitting, call: Minnesota Department of Transportation Freight and Commercial Vehicle Operations – Oversize/Overweight Permits 651-296-6000 [email protected]

All changes are made with a minimum three-calendar-day notice.

For the most current information, go to MnDOT’s automated 24-hour message center at 800-723-6543 for the U.S. and Canada, or 651-366-5400 for the Minneapolis/St. Paul area. This information is also published on the MnDOT seasonal load limits website at mndot.gov/loadlimits .

For updated road condition information, call 511 or visit www.511mn.org .

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Signs Suggest That Invasion of Rafah Is All but Inevitable

Israel says an assault on Gaza’s southernmost city is vital to dismantling Hamas and has proposed evacuating civilians. But more than a million people have taken refuge in the city.

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By Steven Erlanger

Steven Erlanger, a former Jerusalem bureau chief, has traveled through Rafah, in Gaza, and along Gaza’s border with Egypt in the past.

After weeks of delays, negotiations and distractions, Israel appeared to hint this week that its assault of Rafah — a city teeming with displaced persons above ground and riddled with Hamas tunnels below — was all but inevitable.

In what some analysts and residents of the city saw as a sign of preparations for an invasion, an Israeli military official on Tuesday gave some details that include relocating civilians to a safe zone a few miles away along the Mediterranean coast. Just a day earlier, Israeli warplanes bombed Rafah, increasing fears among some of the civilians sheltering there that a ground assault would soon follow.

Such indicators that Israel may be preparing an invasion, said Marwan Shaath, a 57-year-old resident of Rafah, “are terrifying and mean they may really be close to starting an operation.” Mr. Shaath, who lives in Gaza but is employed by Hamas’s Palestinian rivals in the occupied West Bank, added, “Our bags have been packed for months now for the time of the evacuation.”

Israel insists that a push into Rafah is necessary for achieving its goals of eliminating the militants sheltering in a network of tunnels beneath the city, capturing or killing Hamas leaders presumed to be there and ensuring the release of the remaining hostages captured during the Hamas-led Oct. 7 attacks on Israel.

But more than one million Gazans, many of them previously displaced from other parts of the territory by Israeli bombardment, are sheltering in the city in makeshift tents. In the case of an invasion, one Israeli military official said, civilians would probably be moved to Al-Mawasi, a designated humanitarian zone . But the zone is already overflowing with displaced people, who warn that it lacks the infrastructure, including clean water and latrines, to handle such an enormous influx.

“Where do these million people go?” asked Ali Jarbawi, a former Palestinian Authority official who teaches at Birzeit University in the occupied West Bank. “We haven’t seen signs of the Israelis’ evacuating people.”

Mr. Shaath, the Rafah resident, said that despite being prepared to go he was in no rush. “At the end of the day, Mawasi is 25 minutes walking from where I live,” he said, adding that he would not evacuate “until the operation really begins and my residential block is labeled a fighting area.”

Exactly when such an operation might start remains an open and critical question.

Hamas, analysts said, is bottled up in southern Gaza, heavy fighting has mostly subsided, a cease-fire remains a possibility and delaying helps placate the Americans, who have called for a detailed plan to protect civilians ahead of an invasion.

Some analysts have even suggested Israel may never invade Rafah and that the threat alone is a means to leverage Hamas amid cease-fire and hostage negotiations. When pressed, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel said this month that a date had been set for the invasion, but he provided no other details. Yoav Gallant, the Israeli defense minister, reportedly denied such a plan to his American counterpart, Lloyd J. Austin III.

Beyond just moving against Rafah, any strategy for southern Gaza must also include broader plans, analysts said: both for securing the narrow ribbon of land along the Egyptian border, through which weapons have been smuggled; and the even thornier question of who will govern the enclave when the fighting is over.

Most officials and analysts said an assault on the city was not a matter of if, but of when.

The Israelis have to finish off “Rafah in order to realize the first and most important objective of the war,” said Kobi Michael of the Institute for National Security Studies and the Misgav Institute for National Security and Zionist Strategy, both think tanks in Israel. That includes plans “to dismantle the main centers of gravity, civilian and military, of Hamas, to prevent it from re-establishing itself as a military and political authority,” he said.

For his part, President Biden has not strayed from his support of Israel in pursuing that primary goal — dismantling Hamas as a military and political power in Gaza — or of Israel’s other main objective, securing the release of about 100 hostages still believed to be in the territory. But the president has become increasingly vocal in his calls for Israel to reduce civilian casualties and to allow more humanitarian aid into Gaza.

“We cannot support a major military operation in Rafah,” Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken told reporters last week while in Italy. Protecting civilians during such an operation, he added, would be “a monumental task for which we have yet to see a plan.”

To that end, Israel’s proposed expansion of Al-Mawasi for use as a humanitarian zone could be viewed as an effort to placate the United States and other countries regarding civilian deaths in Rafah.

On Tuesday, Volker Turk, the United Nations’ human rights chief, said world “leaders stand united on the imperative of protecting the civilian population trapped in Rafah.”

Chuck Freilich, a former deputy national security adviser in Israel and a critic of the government, said, “An operation in Rafah is necessary to complete the destruction of Hamas’s major military capabilities and is probably inevitable.”

But, he added, there is no urgency to attack now and it could behoove the Israelis to be seen as heeding Washington’s advice and waiting. Egypt, too, is urging caution, fearing that major strikes would send Palestinians fleeing over its border.

Even more important strategically than Rafah, Mr. Michael said, is the roughly 8.7-mile strip of largely unpopulated land along the border with Egypt, known as the Philadelphi Corridor. Israelis believe that much of the extraordinary arsenal and the building supplies Hamas accumulated in Gaza came through Egypt, mostly through smuggling tunnels, Mr. Michael said, as did Yossi Kuperwasser, a reserve brigadier general and former Israeli intelligence officer.

“We must shut down all the infrastructure of the tunnels underneath Rafah used to smuggle money, weapons and people into Gaza,” Mr. Michael said. “If we end the war without blocking the tunnels, we would enable Hamas or any other terrorist organization in the strip to rebuild their military capacities.”

In a recent report , the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv called on Israel to make “brave decisions” and to develop “a plan for the hermetic closure of the Philadelphi Corridor, in close cooperation with Egypt and the United States.”

“The main goal,” the report found, is not the conquest of Rafah but “to prevent arms and weapons smuggling.”

The current protocol between Israel and Egypt, agreed on when Israel withdrew its troops and settlers from Gaza in 2005, assigns Egypt to secure the border with a force of 750 soldiers equipped to combat terrorism and smuggling. Israeli officials say that the accord is outdated, not least because Hamas took control of the enclave in 2007, and Mr. Netanyahu has vowed to restore security along the border. Egypt says that it has taken significant action to secure the area and eliminate the tunnels, and that some smuggling into Gaza occurs from Israel as well.

“There are now three barriers between Sinai and the Palestinian Rafah, with which any smuggling operation is impossible, neither above nor below the ground,” Egypt’s chief spokesman, Diaa Rashwan, said on Tuesday.

Nevertheless, the United States is brokering an agreement between Egypt and Israel to build a more technologically advanced barrier on the Egyptian side of the border, which would be financed by Washington and could be monitored from afar by the United States and Israel.

Should Israel take Rafah and secure the border, the question of who will govern Gaza after the fighting ends remains unanswered. “The key to rendering Gaza safe for Israelis, and for that matter for Gazans, lies in what follows the fighting,” said Lawrence Freedman, emeritus professor of war studies at King’s College, London.

“From the start the lack of a credible political dimension to Israel’s strategy has been its most evident flaw,” Mr. Freedman wrote in an email. Israel, he added, has failed to appreciate the impact of heavy civilian casualties on its reputation and has also failed to produce a plan for Gaza’s government and its reconstruction, “essential if Hamas is not to return to its former position.”

Steven Erlanger is the chief diplomatic correspondent in Europe and is based in Berlin. He has reported from over 120 countries, including Thailand, France, Israel, Germany and the former Soviet Union. More about Steven Erlanger

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The Unreality of Columbia’s ‘Liberated Zone’

What happens when genuine sympathy for civilian suffering mixes with a fervor that borders on the oppressive?

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Updated at 11:15 p.m. ET on April 22, 2024

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Yesterday just before midnight, word goes out, tent to tent, student protester to student protester—a viral warning: Intruders have entered the “liberated zone,” that swath of manicured grass where hundreds of students and their supporters at what they fancy as the People’s University for Palestine sit around tents and conduct workshops about demilitarizing education and fighting settler colonialism and genocide. In this liberated zone, normally known as South Lawn West on the Columbia University quad, unsympathetic outsiders are treated as a danger.

“Attention, everyone! We have Zionists who have entered the camp!” a protest leader calls out. His head is wrapped in a white-and-black keffiyeh. “We are going to create a human chain where I’m standing so that they do not pass this point and infringe on our privacy.”

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Privacy struck me as a peculiar goal for an outdoor protest at a prominent university. But it’s been a strange seven-month journey from Hamas’s horrific slaughter of Israelis—the original breach of a cease-fire—to the liberated zone on the Columbia campus and similar standing protests at other elite universities. What I witnessed seemed less likely to persuade than to give collective voice to righteous anger. A genuine sympathy for the suffering of Gazans mixed with a fervor and a politics that could border on the oppressive.

Dozens stand and echo the leader’s commands in unison, word for word. “So that we can push them out of the camp, one step forward! Another step forward!” The protesters lock arms and step toward the interlopers, who as it happens are three fellow Columbia students, who are Jewish and pro-Israel.

Jessica Schwalb, a Columbia junior, is one of those labeled an intruder. In truth, she does not much fear violence—“They’re Columbia students, too nerdy and too worried about their futures to hurt us,” she tells me—as she is taken aback by the sight of fellow students chanting like automatons. She raises her phone to start recording video . One of the intruders speaks up to ask why they are being pushed out.

The leader talks over them, dismissing such inquiries as tiresome. “Repeat after me,” he says, and 100 protesters dutifully repeat: “I’m bored! We would like you to leave!”

As the crowd draws closer, Schwalb and her friends pivot and leave. Even the next morning, she’s baffled at how they were targeted. Save for a friend who wore a Star of David necklace, none wore identifying clothing. “Maybe,” she says, “they smelled the Zionists on us.”

As the war has raged on and the death toll has grown, protest rallies on American campuses have morphed into a campaign of ever grander and more elaborate ambitions: From “Cease-fire now” to the categorical claim that Israel is guilty of genocide and war crimes to demands that Columbia divest from Israeli companies and any American company selling arms to the Jewish state.

Many protesters argue that, from the river to the sea, the settler-colonialist state must simply disappear. To inquire, as I did at Columbia, what would happen to Israelis living under a theocratic fascist movement such as Hamas is to ask the wrong question. A young female protester, who asked not to be identified for fear of retribution, responded: “Maybe Israelis need to check their privilege.”

Of late, at least one rabbi has suggested that Jewish students depart the campus for their own safety. Columbia President Minouche Shafik acknowledged in a statement earlier today that at her university there “have been too many examples of intimidating and harassing behavior.” To avoid trouble, she advised classes to go virtual today, and said, “Our preference is that students who do not live on campus will not come to campus.”

Tensions have in fact kept ratcheting up. Last week, Shafik called in the New York City police force to clear an earlier iteration of the tent city and to arrest students for trespassing. The university suspended more than 100 of these protesters, accusing them, according to the Columbia Spectator , of “disruptive behavior, violation of law, violation of University policy, failure to comply, vandalism or damage to property, and unauthorized access or egress.” Even some Jewish students and faculty unsympathetic to the protesters say the president’s move was an accelerant to the crisis, producing misdemeanor martyrs to the pro-Palestinian cause. A large group of faculty members walked out this afternoon to express their opposition to the arrests and suspensions.

As for the encampment itself, it has an intifada-meets-Woodstock quality at times. Dance clubs offer interpretive performances; there are drummers and other musicians, and obscure poets reading obscure poems. Some tents break out by identity groups: “Lesbians Against Genocide,” “Hindus for Intifada.” Banners demand the release of all Palestinian prisoners. Small Palestinian flags, embroidered with the names of Palestinian leaders killed in Gaza, are planted in the grass.

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During my nine-hour visit, talking with student protesters proved tricky. Upon entering the zone, I was instructed to listen as a gatekeeper read community guidelines that included not talking with people not authorized to be inside—a category that seemed to include anyone of differing opinions. I then stood in a press zone and waited for Layla Saliba, a social-work graduate student who served as a spokesperson for the protest. A Palestinian American, she said she has lost family in the fighting in Gaza. She talked at length and with nuance. Hers, however, was a near-singular voice. As I toured the liberated zone, I found most protesters distinctly nonliberated when it came to talking with a reporter.

Leaders take pains to insist that, for all the chants of “From the river to sea” and promises to revisit the 1948 founding of Israel, they are only anti-Zionist and not anti-Jewish. To that end, they’ve held a Shabbat dinner and, during my visit, were planning a Passover seder. (The students vow to remain, police notwithstanding, until graduation in May).

“We are not anti-Jewish, not at all,” Saliba said.

But to talk with many Jewish students who have encountered the protests is to hear of the cumulative toll taken by words and chants and actions that call to mind something ancient and ugly.

Earlier in the day, I interviewed a Jewish student on a set of steps overlooking the tent city. Rachel, who asked that I not include a surname for fear of harassment, recalled that in the days after October 7 an email went out from a lesbian organization, LionLez , stating that Zionists were not allowed at a group event. A subsequent email from the club’s president noted: “White Jewish people are today and always have been the oppressors of all brown people,” and “when I say the Holocaust wasn’t special, I mean that.” The only outward manifestation of Rachel’s sympathies was a pocket-size Israeli flag in a dorm room. Another student, Sophie Arnstein, told me that after she said in class that “Jewish lives matter,” others complained that her Zionist beliefs were hostile. She ended up dropping the course.

This said, the students I interviewed told me that physical violence has been rare on campus. There have been reports of shoves, but not much more. The atmosphere on the streets around the campus, on Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue, is more forbidding. There the protesters are not students but sectarians of various sorts, and the cacophonous chants are calls for revolution and promises to burn Tel Aviv to the ground. Late Sunday night, I saw two cars circling on Amsterdam as the men inside rolled down their windows and shouted “ Yahud , Yahud ”—Arabic for “Jew, Jew”—“fuck you!”

A few minutes earlier, I had been sitting on a stone bench on campus and speaking with a tall, brawny man named Danny Shaw, who holds a master’s in international affairs from Columbia and now teaches seminars on Israel in the liberated zone. When he describes the encampment, it sounds like Shangri-la. “It’s 100 percent love for human beings and very beautiful; I came here for my mental health,” he said.

He claims no hatred for Israel, although he suggested that the “genocidal goliath” will of course have to disappear or merge into an Arab-majority state. He said he does not endorse violence, even as he likened the October 7 attacks to the Warsaw Ghetto uprising during World War II.

Shaw’s worldview is consistent with that of others in the rotating cast of speakers at late-night seminars in the liberated zone. The prevailing tone tends toward late-stage Frantz Fanon : much talk of revolution and purging oneself of bourgeois affectation. Shaw had taught for 18 years at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, but he told me the liberated zone is now his only gig. The John Jay administration pushed him out—doxxed him, he said—in October for speaking against Israel and for Palestine. He was labeled an anti-Semite and remains deeply pained by that. He advised me to look up what he said and judge for myself. So I did, right on the spot.

Shortly after October 7, he posted this on X: “Zionists are straight Babylon swine. Zionism is beyond a mental illness; it’s a genocidal disease.”

A bit harsh, maybe? I asked him. He shook his head. “The rhetoric they use against us makes us look harsh and negative,” Shaw said. “That’s not the flavor of what we are doing.”

We parted shortly afterward. I walked under a near-full moon toward a far gate, protesters’ chants of revolution echoing across what was otherwise an almost-deserted campus. I could not shake the sense that too many at this elite university, even as they hoped to ease the plight of imperiled civilians, had allowed the intoxicating language of liberation to blind them to an ugliness encoded within that struggle.

This article previously misstated the name of the lawn occupied by protesters at Columbia University.