Israel's military says it's taken control of a strategic corridor along Gaza's border with Egypt

Israel seizes strategic corridor along Gaza-Egypt border, intensifying conflict with Hamas, Egypt, and international community.

Israel’s military said on Wednesday it had seized control of a strategic corridor that runs along the length of Gaza’s border with Egypt, an objective Israel had said was necessary in its bid to destroy Hamas as part of the ongoing war, now in its eighth month.

The capture of the area, known as the Philadelphi Corridor, gives Israel control over a strip of land it says is awash in smuggling tunnels that have funneled weapons and other goods for Hamas — even under a yearslong blockade imposed by Israel and Egypt.

The move comes as Israel has deepened its incursion into the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where hundreds of thousands of people seeking shelter from fighting elsewhere had been displaced, and where intensifying violence in recent days has killed dozens of Palestinians.

The capture of the corridor could complicate Israel's relations with Egypt, which has previously complained over Israel's advance toward its border, including when Israel took over the Rafah border crossing, the only crossing between Gaza and Egypt. Egypt has said that any increase in troops in the strategic corridor would violate the countries' 1979 peace accord.

An Israeli military official, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with military regulations, said Israel had notified Egypt of the takeover. He said some 20 tunnels, including some that were previously unknown to Israel, had been found during the operation, as well as 82 access points to those tunnels.

“It means we can control and we have the ability to cut off the oxygen line that Hamas has used for replenishing and movement,” the official said.

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