Israel's military has announced that it has gained control over the Philadelphi Corridor, a strategic zone along the border between Gaza and Egypt. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported uncovering approximately 20 tunnels used by Hamas to smuggle weapons into Gaza in this area. However, Egyptian sources denied these claims and accused Israel of using them as justification for their military operation in Rafah, a city in southern Gaza.
According to IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, the Philadelphia Corridor served as a critical lifeline for Hamas, enabling them to regularly smuggle weapons into the Gaza Strip. Israeli troops are now investigating and neutralizing any tunnels found within this area. It should be noted that not all of these tunnels necessarily crossed into Egypt.
The Philadelphia Corridor is a buffer zone about 100m wide that runs along the Gaza side of the 13km border with Egypt. While Egypt has previously stated that they have destroyed cross-border tunnels, making smuggling impossible, Israel's recent claims contradict this assertion.
Tensions between Egypt and Israel have been escalating since Israeli forces took control of the Gazan side of the Rafah crossing point three weeks ago as part of their offensive against Hamas. Additionally, an Egyptian soldier was recently killed during an incident involving both Egyptian and Israeli troops near Rafah.
Egypt strongly supports Palestinians and condemns Israel's military campaign in Gaza which resulted in numerous civilian casualties. However, despite imposing its own blockade on its border with Gaza since Hamas took power in 2006, Egypt has maintained communication channels with Hamas. It acts as a mediator during intermittent indirect talks between Israel and Hamas aimed at achieving a ceasefire agreement and securing the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas.
In summary, Israel claims to have taken control over key areas within the Philadelphia Corridor where they discovered multiple smuggling tunnels used by Hamas to transport weapons into Gaza. The accuracy of these reports is being disputed by Egyptian sources who accuse Israel of using them as justification for their military operations in Rafah. At the same time, tensions continue to rise between both nations.
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