JERUSALEM, Israel – In a major breakthrough, Israel announced that it has gained control over the strategic Philadelphi Corridor, cutting off the Gaza-to-Egypt tunnels. Israel claims the corridor served as an “oxygen line” for Hamas.
Israel Defense Forces Spokesman Daniel Hagari stated Wednesday, “Our operations in Rafah have confirmed the intelligence that compelled us to operate in Rafah in the first place. Hamas turned the Philadelphi route into a central Hamas hotbed of terror. We have now gained operational control over the Philadelphi route in Rafah.”
The nearly nine-mile corridor, which runs across the entire southern edge of the Gaza Strip from the sea, was originally intended to prevent weapons and ammunition smuggling from Egyptian territory into Gaza.
Instead, Israel claims the corridor served as Hamas’ lifeline, through which the terror group regularly smuggled weapons.
Hagari listed what the IDF has found: “Dozens of rockets, launchers with rockets inside ready to be fired at Israeli homes next to the border with Egypt.These are the same rocket launchers that Hamas used to fire around 70 rockets and mortars at millions of Israelis in the last recent weeks, including the recent rocket attack against Tel Aviv.”
The military also found a nearly eight-mile subterranean tunnel network extending to about 20 tunnels,
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