Tel Aviv: The Israel Defence Forces said on Wednesday it was in full “operational control” of the entire Gaza-Egypt border and has so far located 20 tunnels leading into the Egyptian Sinai.
The 14 km strip of land along the border is known as the Philadelphi corridor, a buffer zone created to prevent weapons smuggling in 2006 after Israel disengaged from the Strip. But in 2007, Hamas violently seized control of Gaza from the Palestinian Authority.
The army said troops were physically present in most of the corridor, except for a portion of near the Mediterranean coast which is controlled by surveillance and firepower.
The army said it was aware of the presence of some of the cross-border tunnels. Another 82 shafts within the corridor area that did not cross the border were also discovered and will be destroyed.
The IDF reportedly found dozens of rocket launchers placed by Hamas along the border, a politically sensitive area. The border is technically a demilitarized zone under the terms of the Camp David Accords signed in 1978.
Israel took control of the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt and most of the border on May 7.
At least 1,200 people were killed, and 252 Israelis and foreigners were taken hostage in Hamas’s attacks on Israeli communities near the Gaza border on October 7. Of the 125 remaining hostages, 39 are believed dead.
