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The IDF has full control over the Philadelphi corridor, it announced on Wednesday, adding that the military can now "cut off Hamas' lifeline for supplies coming in from the Sinai." At least 20 tunnels were found and the military was investigating how many of them were dug under the border and used by the terror group to transport weapons, cash and perhaps people in and out of the Strip.
At least 82 tunnel shafts also were found and were expected to be destroyed after they are examined. Israel relayed the information on the tunnels to Egypt.
The military also said its forces had located structures and dugouts housing dozens of loaded rocket launchers. Their positioning only meters away from the border itself was likely in the belief that the IDF would not strike an area so close to Egypt.
"Hamas has now lost an important asset for the transport of weapons," the IDF said in a statement.
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IDF locates Hamas rocket launchers near the Rafah border with Egypt
(Photo: Screenshot)
Israel's control of the strategically important corridor, which runs along the Gaza-Egypt border, could be used as leverage against Hamas to bring it back to the negotiation table in efforts to reach a deal for the release of the Israeli hostages held since October 7 in exchange for a cease-fire.
Meanwhile, Egypt claims that there is "no truth" in the reports about the existence of tunnels on the border between Egypt and Gaza. "Israel is using these claims to justify continued activity in Rafah and to prolong the war for political purposes," a senior Egyptian source told Al-Qahara Al-Ahbariya. Another source told the Egyptian newspaper that "Israel continues to publish lies regarding the situation on the ground of its forces in Rafah. There is no truth in what has been published about tunnels on the Egypt-Gaza border, the lies express the magnitude of the Israeli government's crisis."
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Commanding Officer of the 401st Brigade, COL Benny Aharon
(IDF)
First published: 19:57, 05.29.24