After eleven weeks of ground offensive against the terrorist group Hamas, Israel is preparing to carry out a large-scale military operation to take control of the border between Gaza and Egypt, The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday.
Israel “is pushing to retake control of the southern frontier with Egypt,” the WSJ wrote. “Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, say Israel must have a grip on the border area, which the Israeli military calls the Philadelphi Corridor, to block Hamas from smuggling weapons into the strip.”
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is “set to launch massive attack to seize Gaza’s border with Egypt,” the Jerusalem Post reported Saturday afternoon.
The Egyptian border has long been used by Hamas to smuggle weapons and move terrorists in and out of Gaza. With the IDF now carrying out ground operations in Gaza, Hamas’s terrorist fighting machine is being replenished through Egypt, analysts fear. According to a recent report by the DC-based thinktank Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), the “tunnels to Egypt played key Role in arming Hamas.”
Apart from replenishing Hamas, the cross-border tunnels could also be used to whisk Gaza-based terrorist leadership into Egypt. “Hamas smuggling tunnels below the Philadelphia route [the Egypt-Gaza border] raise two challenges for Israel, as they enable the illicit transit of weaponry into Gaza and may facilitate the escape of Hamas leaders, thus circumventing Israeli apprehension or attacks.” FDD Research Analyst Joe Truzman noted.
Given Egypt’s dismal track record in stopping cross-border weapons smuggling, Israel has little confidence in Cairo’s ability to prevent Gaza-based terrorists from rearming.
Prominent Israeli national security expert, Meir Ben-Shabbat, explained in Israel Hayom newspaper earlier this month:
If the past is prologue, then it is clear that arms smuggling into the Gaza Strip cannot be prevented without effective control over the Philadelphi Route and the border crossing between Gaza and Egypt. Supervision mechanisms and reliance on other arrangements in this area have always turned out to be a resounding failure.
The Israeli military continued to strike terrorist strong points across Gaza. IDF’s “646th Brigade conducted a targeted raid on an active Hamas command center and located dozens of weapons, computers, phones and many intelligence devices,” the military said in a statement on Saturday. “After the forces completed their activities in the area, the command center and the weapons were destroyed using the forces’ engineering capabilities.”
The Israeli TV channel i24NEWS reported the ongoing IDF operation:
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Saturday reported ongoing operations across the Gaza Strip.Fighters of the 646th Reserve Paratroopers Brigade are said to have located two Hamas rocket launching sites, “with projectiles prepared for launch in the immediate time-frame.”In Khan Yunis, the 7th Armored Brigade is said to have destroyed the Hamas tunnel shaft and to have clashed with terrorists. “IDF troops identified two terrorists shooting and fleeing from a building. The troops directed an IAF aircraft to strike the terrorists,” read the statement.”One of the terrorists was eliminated and the other fled to another building.” An additional aircraft stuck and killed the terrorist later.Additionally, the troops have reported finding the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) training manuals, sniping posts, and technological assets in the area.In northern Gaza, troops of the 401st Armored Brigade located and destroyed a several rocket launching positions in the al-Atatra neighborhood, read the IDF statement.
The Israeli military on Friday night eliminated three members of a terrorist cell trying to infiltrate Israel from Palestinian Authority-controlled West Bank. At least one Israeli civilian was injured when a group of terrorist breached the security barrier near the town of Hebron.
The armed terrorists were planning to massacre of unsuspecting Israelis nearly 100 days after the October 7 massacre, reports suggest. The foiled attack highlights the terrorist threat lurking in the PA-controlled West Bank.
The Israeli broadcaster Arutz Sheva reported:
An Israeli suffered light-to-moderate injuries on Friday evening when terrorists opened fire in the town of Adora, located in the Judean Mountains, northwest of Hebron.Magen David Adom said the injured victim, a 34-year-old man who was conscious, is suffering from an injury to his legs and was evacuated to the hospital for treatment after receiving initial treatment at the scene.According to the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit, terrorists opened fire at IDF troops who were dispatched to Adora following the shooting attack.“IDF soldiers began a pursuit of the terrorists and extensive searches in the area. During the searches, three terrorists were identified and eliminated by the security forces,” the statement said.
The U.S. military continued strikes against Iran-backed Houthi terror targets in Yemen for the second day in a row. Washington’s response comes after a series of Houthi attacks on U.S. naval ships engaged in rescuing vessels in the Red Sea.
The Yemen-based Islamic terrorist group, allied with the Iranian regime and Hamas, has been attacking cargo ships and tankers in the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean in a bid to disrupt commercial shipments entering and leaving the southern Israeli port of Eilat.
The Houthis have increasingly become a menace in the region since President Joe Biden removed them from the list of designated terrorist group — reversing the Trump-era decision.
A training video posted by the Houthis on Saturday shows terrorist group staging a mock Hamas-style attack on a Jewish community in Israel.
The Associated Press reported the latest U.S. retaliatory strikes:
The U.S. military early Saturday struck another Houthi-controlled site in Yemen that it had determined was putting commercial vessels in the Red Sea at risk, a day after the U.S. and Britain launched multiple airstrikes targeting Houthi rebels. (…)
U.S. Central Command said the “follow-on action” early Saturday local time against a Houthi radar site was conducted by the Navy destroyer USS Carney using Tomahawk land attack missiles.
The first day of strikes Friday hit 28 locations and struck more than 60 targets. President Joe Biden had warned Friday that the Houthis could face further strikes.
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