Israel’s military said it had seized control of a strategic corridor along Gaza’s border with Egypt to cut off smuggling tunnels as it tries to destroy the militant Hamas group in a war now in its eighth month.
The capture of the Philadelphi Corridor could complicate Israel’s relations with Egypt, which has complained about Israel’s advance towards its border. Israel says the corridor is awash in tunnels that have funnelled weapons and other goods for Hamas – despite a years-long blockade imposed by Israel and Egypt.
Israeli tanks move along the border with the Gaza Strip this week. Getty
Israel also deepened its incursion into the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where hundreds of thousands have been seeking shelter from fighting, and where intensifying violence in recent days has killed dozens of Palestinians. The military said that a fifth brigade – up to several thousand soldiers – joined troops operating in the city on Tuesday (Middle Eastern time).
Egypt says any increase in troops in the strategic border area would violate the countries’ 1979 peace accord. It already has complained about Israel taking over the Rafah border crossing, the only crossing between Gaza and Egypt.
“The Philadelphi Corridor served as the oxygen line of Hamas through which Hamas carried out weapons smuggling into Gaza on a regular basis,” said Israel’s military chief spokesman, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari.
An Israeli military official said Israel had notified Egypt of the takeover.
Earlier on Wednesday, a top Israeli official said the war was likely to last through to the end of the year – a grim prediction for a conflict that has killed tens of thousands, deepened Israel’s global isolation and brought the region to the brink of a wider conflagration.
Israel’s national security adviser, Tzachi Hanegbi, told Kan public radio he was “expecting another seven months of fighting” to destroy the military and governing capabilities of Hamas and the smaller Islamic Jihad militant group.
The army has said from the start the “war will be long”, he said. “They have designated 2024 as a year of war.”