Gaza Strip: Israeli Soldiers Occupy Border with Egypt

On Thursday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) controlled the so-called Philadelphi Corridor and the Rafah crossing in southern Gaza, bordering Egypt, amid strong international criticism of the offensive against the area.

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According to IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari, troops fully occupied the Corridor, a 100-metre-wide, 14.5-kilometre-long strip of Palestinian land that runs parallel to the demarcation line between the coastal enclave and Egypt.

The Times of Israel, however, qualified the information by stating that the westernmost area, along the coast, was not occupied, but is under fire control.

Hagari said that some 20 smuggling tunnels and 82 shafts have been detected so far, although the figure was disputed by Cairo.

A month ago, the head of Egypt's State Intelligence Service, Diaa Rashwan, assured that the country has full control over its territory and rejected Israeli accusations of alleged arms and ammunition trafficking to Gaza.

Some 1,500 tunnels connecting the coastal enclave to our country have been destroyed over the past decade and the border fence has been reinforced, he said.

Tensions between the two countries escalated a few days ago after an Egyptian soldier was killed by Israeli gunfire in an incident that is still under investigation.

In early May, Netanyahu launched his troops against the Palestinian city of Rafah and the Rafah crossing on the border with the North African nation.

The prime minister claims that control of the area allowed the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) to smuggle arms and weapons from across the demarcation line, which Cairo rejects.

Israeli media reported that in the last few hours the army advanced towards the centre and western parts of the city, where fighting with militiamen was reported in several areas, including around the municipal stadium.

Tanks were also reported near the Al-Huda mosque, in Al-Oda, Al Jamah and Al-Sharki squares, as well as in the vicinity of the cemetery and the Indonesian hospital in Tal al Sultan.

According to the UN, more than one million Palestinians have fled the city in the last three weeks.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Middle East warned that the situation there is critical because of a lack of medicine, food and other vital life-sustaining items.