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Israeli Forces in Gaza Discover Hamas Tunnel Under Egyptian Army Post
Illustrative: Israeli soldiers operate at the opening to a tunnel at Al Shifa Hospital compound in Gaza City, amid the ongoing ground operation of the Israeli army against Hamas, in the Gaza Strip, Nov. 22, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
JNS.org – Israel Defense Forces soldiers operating in southern Gaza have located dozens of cross-border tunnels used by Hamas terrorists to smuggle weapons into the enclave from Egypt, the military revealed on Sunday.
“In recent operational activity, IDF troops destroyed dozens of tunnel routes in the area of the Philadelphi Corridor and continue to locate additional ones,” the military announcement said, using the IDF’s name for the Gaza Strip’s 8.5-mile border with Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula.
One of the smuggling routes—which soldiers discovered early last week and that was large enough for vehicles to drive through—was dug directly underneath an Egyptian army position on the border, photos show.
“At this time, the forces are continuing to discover and neutralize the underground route that was detected, in addition to other large-scale routes that were found,” the IDF said, adding that it “will thoroughly destroy all underground infrastructures on the Philadelphi Corridor and will act resolutely to prevent their formation in the future.”
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich tweeted on Sunday, in reference to a ceasefire deal under consideration, “We have warned how dangerous it would be to leave the Philadelphi Corridor under Hamas’s control as part of a surrender pact with [the terrorist group’s leader in Gaza Yahya] Sinwar.”
Letting the terrorist group control the corridor would mean “giving a green light to its rehabilitation and the execution of another massacre of Israeli civilians,” added the Religious Zionism Party leader in his post on X.
IDF ground forces took control of Gaza’s border with Egypt in late May as part of the military operation in the city of Rafah. At the time, the IDF described the Philadelphi Corridor as Hamas’s “lifeline,” through which the terrorist group smuggled weapons and supplies into Gaza.
Jerusalem maintains that control of the border is critical to ensuring that Hamas does not rearm and rebuild via smuggling tunnels with Egypt. During its months-long operation in Rafah and along the border, the IDF has uncovered many tunnels running under the corridor.
Hamas has demanded—as part of talks being brokered by the US, Qatar and Egypt—that Israeli forces permanently end the war against the terrorist group and withdraw from the entire Gaza Strip.
In public remarks, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly stressed that “in every scenario,” Jerusalem will continue to control the areas of the Rafah border crossing and the Philadelphi Corridor.
However, in private talks with the Egyptian government, Israeli officials have reportedly indicated that Jerusalem might be willing to withdraw if Cairo agreed to measures to prevent arms smuggling along the frontier.
Israel will consider a mechanism that would allow withdrawal “as part of a framework for the release of hostages,” Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told White House special envoy Brett McGurk on July 10.
Matthew Miller, the US State Department spokesman, told reporters during a July 15 briefing that the Israeli government has “very real security concerns about the Philadelphi Corridor.
“That was a chief, if not primary, smuggling route for Hamas to get weapons into Gaza that they used to launch the attacks of October 7, that they used to launch rocket attacks against Israel, that they used to oppress the Palestinian people,” the spokesman explained.
“It is important that smuggling of weapons into Gaza be resolved. It’s also important that we find a way to reopen the Rafah border crossing. So we have been in talks with Egypt and with Israel about how to accomplish all those objectives,” Miller said.
The post Israeli Forces in Gaza Discover Hamas Tunnel Under Egyptian Army Post first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.