Israel’s military has announced that it has taken control of the strategically significant buffer zone along the Gaza-Egypt border, known as the Philadelphi Corridor, thereby controlling Gaza’s entire land border.
An Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman stated that around 20 tunnels used by Hamas to smuggle weapons into Gaza had been discovered within this zone.
However, Egyptian TV quoted sources denying this, accusing Israel of trying to justify its military operation in Rafah, a city in southern Gaza.
This development comes amid heightened tensions with Egypt.
“In recent days, IDF troops have established operational control over the Philadelphi Corridor, on the border between Egypt and Rafah,” IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said on Wednesday.
He described the corridor as a “lifeline” for Hamas, through which the group “regularly smuggled weapons into the Gaza Strip.”
Hagari mentioned that troops were “investigating and neutralizing” tunnels found in the area.
In a briefing with reporters, he later mentioned that he could not confirm if all the tunnels crossed into Egypt, according to the New York Times.
The Philadelphi Corridor is a buffer zone, roughly 100 meters (330 feet) wide in some parts, that runs along the Gaza side of the 13-kilometer (8-mile) border with Egypt. Gaza’s only other land border is with Israel.
Egypt has previously claimed that it had destroyed cross-border tunnels, making any weapons smuggling impossible.
A “high-level” Egyptian source, quoted by Al-Qahera News, accused Israel of “using these allegations to justify continuing the operation on the Palestinian city of Rafah and prolonging the war for political purposes.”
Israel maintains that capturing Rafah is essential for victory in the conflict, which was triggered by Hamas’s unprecedented attack on October 7, resulting in approximately 1,200 deaths and 252 hostages taken.
According to the Hamas-run health ministry, at least 36,170 people have been killed across Gaza since the conflict began.
Tensions between Egypt and Israel have intensified since Israeli forces took control of the Gazan side of the Rafah crossing point three weeks ago as part of their offensive against Hamas.
Earlier this week, an Egyptian soldier was killed in an incident involving Egyptian and Israeli troops in the border area near Rafah.
Egypt has strongly supported the Palestinians and condemned Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, denouncing the killing of thousands of civilians during the conflict.
Despite this, like Israel, Egypt has enforced a blockade on its border with Gaza since Hamas took control in 2006. Hamas is an offshoot of the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood, which is banned as a terrorist organization in Egypt.
However, Egypt has maintained communication channels with Hamas and has been acting as a mediator in indirect talks between Israel and Hamas, aiming to achieve a ceasefire and facilitate the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.