Israel extends control of Gaza's entire land border

Israel's military has announced that it has taken control of the strategically important buffer zone along the Gaza-Egypt border known as the Philadelphi Corridor, effectively extending its control to Gaza's entire land border. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) revealed that they discovered about 20 tunnels used by Hamas to smuggle weapons into Gaza within the zone. The IDF has continued its offensive in Rafah and other areas in Gaza, conducting air strikes on over 50 'terror targets' in the past day. Tragically, three Israeli soldiers lost their lives and three others were seriously injured in a booby-trapped building in Rafah, while two other soldiers were killed in a car-ramming attack near the city of Nablus in the occupied West Bank. Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, the IDF spokesman, stated that forces had 'established operational control' of the Philadelphi Corridor, describing it as a 'lifeline' for Hamas, through which the group 'regularly smuggled weapons into the Gaza Strip'. The Philadelphi Corridor is a buffer zone, only about 100m (330ft) wide in parts, which runs along the Gaza side of the 13km (8-mile) border with Egypt. Gaza's only other land border is with Israel itself. Egypt has previously claimed to have destroyed cross-border tunnels, making any weapons smuggling impossible. Israel has insisted that it must take Rafah to achieve victory in the war triggered by Hamas's unprecedented attack on the country on 7 October, during which about 1,200 people were killed and 252 others were taken hostage. At least 36,170 people have been killed across Gaza since the start of the conflict, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. Tensions between Egypt and Israel have heightened since Israeli forces took control of the Gazan side of the Rafah crossing point three weeks ago as part of their offensive against Hamas.