In Gaza, the Israel Defence Force (IDF) has taken operational control of the entire route along the Gaza-Egypt border, known as the Philadelphi area. According to IDF spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hageri, the newly captured strip of land runs 14 kilometres along the Gaza-Egypt border and is considered Hamas’s oxygen pipeline for smuggling weapons.
Several rocket launchers were also discovered on the border. Hageri further said that the IDF has discovered 20 tunnels that were used for cross-border smuggling. Out of these, some were known to the Israeli Army, but others were discovered for the first time, he added. The spokesperson said that 82 tunnel shafts leading into the tunnels have been located in the newly captured border area.
The IDF spokesperson in the statement also said that Hamas terrorists positioned the rocket launchers near the Egyptian border, believing that Israel wouldn’t shoot and fearing that they would reach Egyptian territory. The IDF said its troops are physically controlling most of the corridor, but a small section is controlled by aerial surveillance.
