The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Thursday they had “dismantled” Hamas' Rafah Brigades in the Philadelphia Corridor, in an effort to eliminate tunnels across the border with Egypt.
The IDF said in a press release that troops from the 162nd Division had conducted “precise, intelligence-based, targeted operations in the Rafah area over the past few months” and “eliminated more than 2,000 terrorists.”
Israeli forces have reportedly destroyed eight miles of underground routes and neutralised roughly 80 percent of Hamas' tunnels in the strategic security corridor that runs along the border with Egypt.
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A map of the Gaza Strip provided by the Israel Defense Forces shows Hamas positions along the Philadelphia Corridor.
The Rafah Brigades were considered one of Hamas' last strongholds. The Israel Times.
Israeli forces are continuing operations in the Tel al-Sultan area, located in the southwestern Gaza Strip, just north of the Philadelphia Corridor, where they continue to discover and destroy tunnels.
The Israel Defense Forces announced that Tel al-Sultan battalion commander Mahmoud Hamdan was killed along with 250 other Hamas terrorists during an operation in the Tel al-Sultan area that first began several weeks ago.
The Philadelphia Corridor has become a major point of contention as the United States, with the backing of Qatar and Egypt, tries to secure a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
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An Israeli soldier stands at the entrance to a tunnel leading to Egypt during the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in the Philadelphia Corridor area of the southern Gaza Strip, September 13, 2024. (Reuters/Amir Cohen)
However, talks appear to be at an impasse, with Hamas signalling that it will not accept any ceasefire conditions as long as Israeli forces remain in the Gaza security corridor. Similarly, Jerusalem has rejected calls for the withdrawal of Israel from the security corridor, citing concerns not only about Hamas terrorists still present in Gaza, but also the threat from the Sinai Peninsula.
Securing the release of all hostages held by the Hamas terror group also remains a top priority for Israel, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other officials warning of growing concerns that hostages could be smuggled out of Gaza via the Sinai Peninsula and fall into Iranian hands.
Brigadier General Itzik Cohen, commander of the 162nd Division, told The Times of Israel that his troops had discovered 203 separate but interconnected tunnels in the Philadelphia Corridor, nine of which crossed the border with Egypt.
An Israeli soldier inspects a blocked tunnel crossing from Gaza to Egypt amid ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in the Philadelphia Corridor area of the southern Gaza Strip, September 13, 2024. (Reuters/Amir Cohen)
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The commander also noted that all nine tunnels had been disabled by either Egyptian or Hamas forces before IDF soldiers discovered them.
The remaining tunnels that have not yet been destroyed are currently being investigated, and will be neutralised once all tunnels have been searched.
