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The Israeli army said on Wednesday it had gained “operational control” of the strategic Philadelphia corridor on the Gaza Strip’s border with Egypt.
“In recent days our forces have seized operational control of the Philadelphia corridor,” military spokesman Daniel Hajari said in televised remarks, referring to the 14-kilometer (8.5-mile) buffer zone.
Hagari said the Israeli army had “discovered about 20 tunnels in the Philadelphia area,” including “a complex underground terrorist infrastructure east of Rafah, 1.5 kilometers long and about 100 meters from the Rafah crossing.”
Hajari said the corridor “is used by Hamas as an oxygen pipeline, through which weapons are regularly transported to the Gaza Strip.”
Weeks ago, Israeli forces seized the Rafah border crossing with Egypt on May 7 and began a ground assault on Gaza’s southernmost city.
The corridor served as a buffer zone between Gaza and Egypt and was patrolled by Israeli troops until they withdrew in 2005 as part of their withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.
Tunnels used to smuggle goods such as weapons, cars and rare animals were discovered beneath the corridor.
Palestinians have used the tunnels to circumvent the Israeli blockade of Palestine since Hamas, which is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union, came to power.
Egyptian authorities have previously blocked tunnels in an attempt to crack down on human trafficking.
Heavy fighting broke out in Rafah on Wednesday, a day after Israeli tanks rolled into the city center, residents and officials said.
The Gaza war was triggered by an October 7 attack by Hamas on southern Israel, which killed 1,189 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
The militants also took 252 hostages, 121 of whom remained in Gaza, and the military said 37 had died.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 36,171 people in Gaza, most of them civilians, according to the Hamas-controlled Gaza’s health ministry.
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