Israel occupied the strategic corridor between the Gaza Strip and Egypt

Israel took control of the Philadelphia Corridor/Collage 24 Channel (illustrative photo)

Israel took control of the Philadelphia Corridor, through which Hamas was supplied with weapons and ammunition. It is located on the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, and underneath there are a large number of smuggling passages.

Despite the threat of deterioration in relations with Egypt, Israel captured strategically important territory, dug up with dozens of smuggling tunnels through which flows of weapons and other goods into the Gaza Strip flow to Hamas terrorists. This allowed them to successfully bypass the long-term blockade by Israel and Egypt.

Why control of the Philadelphia Corridor is important for Israel

An Israeli military official said anonymously that Israel warned Egypt about the capture of the corridor. About 20 tunnels were found there, including previously unknown to Israel, as well as 82 access points to the tunnels, the official said on condition of anonymity. It is unknown if the tunnels are currently in use.

The corridor near the city of Rafah is part of a large demilitarized zone along the Israeli-Egyptian border. Under the peace agreement, each side is allowed to deploy only a small number of troops or border guards in the zone, although this number can be changed by mutual agreement. At the time of the agreement, Israeli forces controlled Gaza until Israel withdrew its forces and settlers in 2005.

The Philadelphia Corridor served as Hamas' oxygen line , through which militants regularly smuggled weapons into Gaza, said Israel’s chief military spokesman, Daniel Hagari.

However, Egypt reports that “there is no communication with the Israeli side” on the charges in detecting tunnels at the border. Egypt has repeatedly expressed fears that the Israeli offensive would send a wave of Palestinian refugees across the border. Egypt considers this scenario unacceptable.

What is the Philadelphia Corridor

This is a narrow demilitarized strip, sometimes about 100 meters wide. It extends 14 kilometers on the Gaza side of the border with Egypt and includes the Rafah crossing point into Egypt. Until 2005, the corridor was controlled by Israel. After the Oslo agreements, control of the border passed to Egypt. He was allowed to deploy 750 border guards to control the strip. Egypt claimed to be destroying all terrorist supply tunnels.

Why Israel launched an offensive on Rafah

• The impetus was the unprovoked aggression of Hamas terrorists against the civilian population of Israel on October 7, 2023. Taking control of Rafah and the Philadelphia Corridor is of key importance for Israel on the path to destroying the terrorist group Hamas.
• However, according to many, the methods of the Israeli army are quite harsh and sometimes affect peaceful population. Therefore, the International Court of Justice ruled that Israel must immediately stop its offensive on Rafah in Gaza.
• At the same time, Hamas shows no steps towards reconciliation. They do not want to return the hostages captured in the fall. In addition, they continue to fire at Israeli territory with homemade rockets.
• Israel struck a tent city in Rafah on May 26. As a result, 35 Palestinian civilians were killed, but Tel Aviv said that the target was a Hamas base where terrorists allegedly operated. In the United States they say that Israel is balancing on the brink.
• At the same time, Israeli tanks reached the center of Rafah for the first time during the offensive on May 28, witnesses to the events reported. The IDF's ground operation in southern Gaza has continued for three weeks despite worldwide condemnation.