The Israeli military released images Friday showing smuggling tunnels and Hamas rocket launchers discovered by troops along the Gaza-Egypt border, as Israel continues to advance with its targeted offensive in the city of Rafah, the southernmost of the coastal enclave.
Along the so-called Philadelphia Corridor, adjacent to Rafah, the Israeli military has so far located around 20 tunnels running through Egypt. Another 82 tunnel shafts leading to the tunnels were located in the corridor area.
Hamas is known to use such tunnels to smuggle weapons into Gaza, despite Egypt’s attempts to thwart them over the past decade. A “high-level” source speaking to Egyptian state media this week denied that such tunnels still exist.
The Israeli military said it has so far demolished dozens of tunnel shafts and several “significant” underground routes in the corridor area, while others are still under investigation.
Hamas members were killed by IDF troops inside some tunnels, the army said.
The Israeli military also said it had located five rocket launch sites along the Gaza-Egypt border. The launchers were all demolished.
On Wednesday, the IDF announced it had established “operational control” over the entire Philadelphia corridor. The troops are physically located in most of the corridor. There is a small section near the coast where ground forces are not present, but the IDF claims to control the area with surveillance and firepower.
The release of the footage comes after the military announced earlier Friday that Israeli forces had located long-range rockets and additional weapons and military equipment in the eastern part of Rafah and along the Philadelphia Corridor. Additionally, the Israeli military confirmed for the first time that it was operating in central Rafah, a day after tanks were reported in the area.
As it advanced toward Rafah, the army also said Friday that its soldiers had withdrawn from the Jabaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza, capping an operation to eliminate Hamas-led fighters who are were cut off there.
Despite a growing wave of international criticism of the operation, the Israeli military claimed that Rafah was the last major Hamas stronghold in the Gaza Strip, and suggested that many of the remaining hostages captured by the group terrorist on October 7 could be detained in the city. .
IDF troops operate in Rafah, southern Gaza, in a photo released May 31, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
The war broke out on October 7 when thousands of Hamas-led terrorists stormed communities and military positions in southern Israel, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 252 hostages, including a certain number of bodies.
Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry says more than 36,000 people have been killed or presumed dead in the fighting so far, although only 22,000 deaths have been identified in hospitals. The toll, which cannot be verified, includes some 15,000 terrorists whom Israel claims to have killed in combat.
294 soldiers were killed during the ground offensive against Hamas and during operations along the border with Gaza. A civilian Defense Ministry contractor was also killed in the Gaza Strip.
News Source : www.timesofisrael.com
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