The Israeli Army announced this Wednesday that it “tactically” controls the Philadelphia Corridor of Rafah, in the south of the Gaza Stripwhich runs along the border with Egypt and where according to Israel some 20 tunnels towards the neighboring country used by Hamas to introduce weapons into the enclave.

“This does not mean that we have forces on the ground throughout the corridor, but it does mean that we can control and we have the ability to cut the line” of Hamas supplies in the area, a military official said at a press conference.

The official assured that they have also found some 82 tunnel access pointssome of which were already known before the operation, and that the Israeli military has informed its Egyptian counterparts of its findings.

However, a high-ranking Egyptian source has told EFE that there are no communications with the Israeli side about tunnels on the Gaza border with Egypt. It has indicated that Israel is using these accusations to justify the continuation of the operation in Rafah and the prolongation of the war for political purposes.

Following the announcement, the Israeli armed forces have claimed to have destroyed a mile-long tunnel that separated into several paths and in which they found anti-tank missiles, grenades, explosives and rifles automatic. “The route included a hideout, bathrooms and additional rooms. All routes and complexes were destroyed,” reads a statement from the Army, which states that the entrance to the tunnel was just 100 meters from the Rafah border crossing into Egypt.

Dozens of displaced people killed in Rafah

On May 6, Israeli forces began a military operation in Rafahat the southernmost tip of the Gaza Strip, despite warnings from much of the international community, since the town served as a refuge for more than a million Palestinians displaced by the war.

The Israeli authorities, who continue to define their attacks in Rafah as a “limited operation”, like the United States, defend that entering the south was necessary since four battalions of the Islamist group still operate in the area. “A key part of Hamas is its underground infrastructure, and Its arms trafficking operations are located in the south of Rafah“, the official has assured in this sense, thus defending the decision of the Israeli Army to attack the town.

This Wednesday, the Gaza Health Ministry, controlled by Hamas, reported the death of at least 75 people in the Israeli attacks of the last 24 hours, including 21 dead in attacks on displaced persons camps in western Rafah.

More than 36,100 people have died and 81,400 have been injured in the besieged Palestinian enclave since the war began, the majority – around 70% – women and children. In addition, the bodies of some 10,000 missing people are believed to still be found under the rubble, with rescue teams unable to access them.