The IDF confirmed that at the end of three weeks of ground maneuvers by the 162nd Division, some 20 tunnels were discovered adjacent to the Philadelphi corridor that separates the Egyptian side from the Palestinian.
Military officials have estimated that most of the tunnels cross into Egyptian territory and were used to smuggle ammunition and materials for the production of weapons.
About 82 shafts were located near them, and it is estimated that they were connected to smuggling tunnels that could be controlled from afar. Forces of the 162nd Division reported last week on huge Hamas weapons stockpiles in the Rafah area.
The IDF also confirmed that information about the handling of the cross-border tunnels was passed on to Egypt, thus provoking criticism within the security establishment.
In practice, for years, security officials have been warning that Hamas operated cross-border tunnels to smuggle weapons, which were allegedly smuggled under the noses of the Egyptian army and police in Sinai directly from weapons warehouses in Iran, Syria, and Hezbollah in Lebanon to the weapons warehouses of Hamas in Gaza.
A few years ago, the Egyptians, under US pressure, launched an extensive engineering operation in which they removed all the residents of Egyptian Rafah from the area of the Philadelphi corridor to a distance of several kilometers, destroyed all the buildings adjacent to the border, dug dozens of meters, and located tunnels.
The IDF praised the engineering activity with the assistance of the Egyptian army. Still, now it is clear that under the nose of the IDF and perhaps with the backing, knowledge, or turning a blind eye, Hamas built a web of smuggling tunnels and continued to strengthen its capabilities despite Egypt’s commitment to fight terrorism in the Sinai area.
Cooperation between the IDF and Egyptian army
Military officials recently said that the IDF and the Egyptian army cooperate closely, including on the tunnels issue. However, officials claimed that Egypt owes explanations for what the 162nd Division discovered on the ground. Therefore, closer action and a mechanism to prevent the digging of tunnels in the future are needed.
It should be noted that the operation of uncovering the tunnels in the Philadelphi corridor has only just begun. There is still a narrow section near the sea that the IDF has decided not to deal with at this stage, and in the near future, the tunnel mapping and destruction phase will begin.
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