No operational tunnel found by Israel along Gaza-Egypt border corridor: Israeli analyst

The Israeli army has not discovered any operational underground tunnel under the Philadelphi Corridor on the Gaza-Egypt border, an Israeli military analyst said, Anadolu Agency reports.

“No single open tunnel has been found in the Egyptian territory. No single usable tunnel has been discovered under the Philadelphi Corridor,” Alon Ben-David told Israeli Channel 13.

The Corridor, a demilitarised area along Egypt’s border with Gaza, has been a sticking point in Gaza ceasefire and prisoner swap negotiations between Israel and Hamas.

Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, insists on maintaining a military presence on the axis, claiming that the Corridor is a “lifeline” for Hamas to re-arm.

Egypt rejects any Israeli military presence on the Corridor and has denounced Netanyahu’s claims about weapons smuggling into Gaza through its territory.

“Around 80 per cent of weapons are self-produced in Gaza,” Ben-David said, calling Netanyahu’s claims about weapons smuggling through the Corridor “inaccurate”.

Last week, Israeli Defence Minister, Yoav Gallant, said that Israeli military withdrawal from the Philadelphi Corridor poses no security problem to Israel.

For months, the US, Qatar and Egypt have been trying to reach an agreement between Israel and Hamas to ensure a prisoner exchange and a ceasefire and allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza. But mediation efforts have been stalled due to Netanyahu’s refusal to meet Hamas’s demands to stop the war.

Israel has continued its brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip since a 7 October Hamas attack, despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire.

More than 40,800 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have since been killed and nearly 94,300 others injured, according to local health authorities.

An ongoing blockade of the enclave has led to severe shortages of food, clean water and medicine, leaving much of the region in ruins.

Israel faces accusations of genocide for its actions in Gaza at the International Court of Justice.

READ: Netanyahu’s insistence on military presence in Philadelphi Corridor undermining ceasefire deal: Report