Israel effectively extended its hold over the Gaza Strip’s entire land border after its military said it “established operational control” of a strategically important buffer zone that separates the enclave from Egypt.
The 9-mile-wide corridor, which Israel’s military refer to by a codename − “Philadelphi Corridor” − was until Wednesday the only Gaza land border that Israel did not directly control. It comes as Israel has deepened its assault on Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah, killing dozens of Palestinians.
“The Philadelphi Corridor served as an oxygen line for Hamas, which it regularly used to smuggle weapons into the area of the Gaza Strip,” Israel’s chief military spokesperson Daniel Hagari said in a briefing, referring to the militant group that Israel has spent the past eight months trying to destroy for its Oct. 7 attacks.
Hagari did not specify what the Israeli military meant by “operational control.” Egypt’s state-run Al-Qahera News broadcaster reported there was no truth to Israeli claims it discovered 20 Hamas tunnels in the corridor.
The corridor seized by Israel was long intended to be a demilitarized zone between Gaza and Egypt. Hamas has controlled it since its 2007 takeover of the seaside strip. It built tunnels, some wide enough to smuggle vehicles and commercial construction materials, to get around a blockade by Israel and Egypt. Israeli officials have also claimed Hamas used the tunnels to smuggle in weapons used in its Oct. 7 attacks in southern Israel.
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A recent investigation by the Middle East Eye news organization, citing secret military documents, found that Egyptian military engineers have destroyed more than 2,000 tunnels connecting Gaza to Egypt since 2011.
Egypt has been fighting local militants aligned with the Islamic State group on its side of the border for more than a decade. At one point, according to MEE’s investigation, Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi ordered his armed forces to conduct a feasibility study into a proposal to dig a canal along the entire border with Gaza.
White House national security spokesman John Kirby told reporters Wednesday Israel’s seizure of the Philadelphi Corridor was consistent with what Israeli officials had briefed President Joe Biden’s team on for their plans for a “limited” operation in Rafah. “It did include moving along that corridor,” Kirby said.
Separately, national security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi, a senior Israeli official who is close to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, told that country’s media on Wednesday that Israel’s war against Hamas could continue until the end of the year.
“We may have another seven months of fighting to consolidate our success and achieve what we have defined as the destruction of Hamas’s power and military capabilities,” Hanegbi said.
Negotiations aimed at an Israel-Hamas cease-fire and the return of hostages held by Hamas have appeared to stall. These discussions have been taking place via mediators Egypt, Qatar and the U.S.
Read More: Israel says it controls Gaza land border with Egypt