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The Philadelphi Corridor: How Hamas Smuggles Terror Into Gaza
An Israeli police officer stands next to the remains of a rocket after rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip towards Israel, amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza between Israel and Palestinian Islamist terrorist group Hamas, in Herzliya, Israel May 26 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Nir Elias
Just 300 feet wide and stretching eight miles from Israel’s border to the Mediterranean, the narrow strip separating Egypt and Gaza, known as the Philadelphi Corridor, is once again the focus of intense political debate.
Established under the 1979 Egypt-Israel peace treaty, the corridor was designed as a critical buffer to prevent the smuggling of weapons and materials into Gaza for terrorist activities. However, after Israel’s disengagement from Gaza in 2005, control of the Egyptian side of the corridor was handed over to Cairo, which promised to prevent trafficking and incursions. Despite these assurances, the corridor has become a vital channel for Hamas to sustain its terror operations.
The extensive network of tunnels beneath the corridor — often called the “Gaza subway” — has allowed Hamas to smuggle weapons, personnel, and other materials.
From a security standpoint, the Philadelphi Corridor is essential to Israel’s efforts to neutralize Hamas’ capabilities. The tunnels have enabled the group not only to maintain but also expand its terror infrastructure, allowing it to continue launching attacks on Israel. By reasserting control over the corridor, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) aim to dismantle this underground network and prevent future smuggling operations.
Philadelphi Corridor. Photo: Hamzé Attar via Twitter/X.
Despite Egypt’s public denials about the existence of smuggling tunnels beneath the Philadelphi Corridor, security experts agree that it is the primary conduit for weapons destined for Hamas. Both Egypt and Hamas strongly oppose Israel’s control over the corridor.
The Philadelphi Corridor is more than just a buffer zone; it is Hamas’ last link to obtaining the materials needed to keep its war effort alive, as well as to rearm and regroup. It is also a crucial route for the international travel of senior Hamas officials.
Israel’s intelligence on these tunnels is well-documented, yet Egypt continues to deny their existence, insisting they were destroyed in previous operations.
On August 22, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant announced that 150 tunnels along the Egypt-Gaza border had been destroyed and emphasized ongoing efforts to eliminate those that remain.
Israel’s recent requests for Egyptian military units to relocate away from the Gaza border, allowing for greater IDF control, have been rejected by Cairo. Currently, the IDF monitors Gaza’s northern, eastern, and western borders. Securing the southern border via the Philadelphi Corridor would pave the way for the complete demilitarization of the Hamas-run enclave.
The Media’s Philadelphi Tunnel Vision
Only after Israel gained control of the Philadelphi Corridor did international media outlets begin to more prominently cover the crossing’s strategic significance. While many outlets have acknowledged how Hamas has long exploited the border to bolster its terror infrastructure in Gaza, few have focused on why Israel deems it crucial to maintain a long-term presence in the area.
The New York Times serves as a clear example. In a section explaining why the corridor “matters” to Israel, the article noted that “Hamas had dug tunnels beneath the strip—some wide enough for trucks, according to military experts—and used them to smuggle weapons and personnel into Gazan territory.”
However, under the subheading about why it matters to Egypt, the Times fails to mention one important point: Cairo’s control of the Philadelphi Corridor has been an abject failure in terms of stymying the flow of weapons and other supplies into Gaza.
Israel wants a role along the Philadelphi Corridor because the Hamas tunnel network has continued to expand under Egypt’s watch. While Egypt shares an interest in destroying Hamas’ capabilities, it continues to deny that there’s a problem it hasn’t been able to solve.
In January, Diaa Rashwan, chairman of Egypt’s State Information Service, denied there was smuggling into Gaza from Egypt, saying that any Israeli move to control the corridor would undermine Egyptian-Israeli relations. He also claimed that more than 1,500 tunnels had been removed and that the border fence with Gaza had been reinforced with a concrete wall.
The IDF’s recent discovery and destruction of 150 more tunnels undermines this assurance.
This crucial detail is often missing from media reports, which instead imply that Israel’s interest in the corridor is merely a land grab.
For example, an Associated Press explainer questioned why Israel is “demanding control” of Philadelphi, without fully addressing the security concerns that underpin Israel’s position.
Explaining why Hamas and Egypt are opposed, the AP states: “[Israeli control] would also be seen by many Palestinians as a prelude to a lasting military occupation and the return of Jewish settlements — something Netanyahu’s far-right coalition partners have openly called for.”
For many in the media, everything Israel does is seen as a cover for another action — in this case, a prelude to territorial expansion. It’s almost as if there’s an inherent media bias against Israel.
The author is a contributor to HonestReporting, a Jerusalem-based media watchdog with a focus on antisemitism and anti-Israel bias — where a version of this article first appeared.
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New Poll: Majority of NYC Voters ‘Less Likely’ to Support Mamdani Over His Refusal to Condemn ‘Globalize the Intifada’
Zohran Mamdani. Photo: Ron Adar / SOPA Images via Reuters Connect
In a warning sign for the campaign of Democratic nominee for mayor of New York Zohran Mamdani, a majority of city voters in a new poll say the candidate’s hardline anti-Israel stance makes them less likely to vote for him.
In the survey of likely city voters conducted by American Pulse, 52.5 percent said Mamdani’s refusal to condemn the slogan “globalize the intifada” coupled with his backing of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement made them less likely to vote for him in November. Just 31% of city voters polled were more likely to support him because of these positions.
At the same time, a significant share of young New York City voters support Mamdani’s anti-Israel positioning, a striking sign of shifting generational views on Israel and the Palestinian cause.
Nearly half of voters aged 18 to 44 (46 percent) said the State Assembly member’s backing for BDS and “refusal to condemn the phrase ‘globalize the intifada’” made them more likely to support him.
Mamdani, a democratic socialist from Queens, has been under fire for defending “globalize the intifada,” a slogan many Jewish groups associate with incitement to violence against Israel and Jews. While critics argue it glorifies terrorism, supporters claim it’s a call for international solidarity with oppressed peoples, especially Palestinians. Mamdani has also voiced support for BDS, a movement widely condemned by mainstream Jewish organizations as antisemitic for singling out Israel.
The generational divide exposed by the poll comes amid a broader political realignment. Younger progressives across the country are increasingly critical of Israeli policies, especially in the wake of the Gaza war, and more receptive to Palestinian activism. But to many Jewish leaders, Mamdani’s rising support is alarming.
Rabbi David Wolpe, visiting scholar at Harvard University, condemned the phrase with a sarcastic analogy.
“‘Globalize the intifada’ is just a political slogan,” he said. “Like ‘The cockroaches must be exterminated’ was just a housing authority slogan in Rwanda.”
Jewish organizations have reported a surge in antisemitic incidents in New York and across the U.S. since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war last fall. The blending of anti-Zionist slogans with calls for “intifada,” historically linked to violent uprisings, has deepened fears among Jewish communities that traditional red lines are being crossed.
Whether this emerging coalition reshapes New York politics remains to be seen. However, the poll indicates that among younger voters, views that were once considered fringe are quickly moving into the mainstream.
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Report: Jews Targeted at June’s Pride Month Events
A Jewish gay pride flag. Photo: Twitter.
The research division of the Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM) released a report on Wednesday detailing incidents of hate against Jews which took place last month during demonstrations in celebration of LGBTQ rights and identity.
Incidents reported by the group include:
- At a Pride march in Wales, the activists Cymru Queers for Palestine chose to block the path and show a sign that said “Profiting from genocide,” an attempt to link the event’s sponsors — such as Amazon — to the war in Gaza.
- A Dublin Pride march saw the participation of the Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign, which labeled Israel a “genocidal entity.”
- In Toronto at a late June Pride march, demonstrators again attacked organizers with a sign declaring, “Pride partners with genocide.”
CAM also identified a recurring narrative deployed against Israel by some far-left activists: so-called “pinkwashing,” a term which the Boycott, Divest, Sanctions (BDS) movement calls “an Israeli government propaganda strategy that cynically exploits LGBTQIA+ rights to project a progressive image while concealing Israel’s occupation and apartheid policies oppressing Palestinians.”
The report notes that at a Washington DC Pride event in early June Medea Benjamin, cofounder of activist group Code Pink and a regular of anti-war protests, wore a pair of goofy, oversized sunglasses and a shirt in her signature pink with the phrase “you can’t pinkwash genocide.”
Other incidents CAM recorded showed the injection of anti-Israel sentiment into Pride events.
A musical group canceled a performance at an interfaith service in Brooklyn, claiming the hosting synagogue had a “public alignment with pro-Israel political positions.” In San Francisco before the yearly Trans March, a Palestine group said in its announcement of its participation, “Stop the war on Iran and the genocide of Palestine, stop the war on immigrants and attacks on trans people.”
CAM notes that this “queers for Palestine” sentiment is not new, pointing to a 2017 event wherein “organizers of the Chicago Dyke March infamously removed participants who were waving a Pride flag adorned with a Star of David on the grounds that the symbol ‘made people feel unsafe.’”
In February, the Israel Defense Forces shared with the New York Post documents it had recovered demonstrating that Hamas had tortured and executed members it suspected of homosexuality and other moral offenses in conflict with Islamist ideology.
Amit Benjamin, who is gay and a first sergeant major in the IDF, said during a visit to New York City for Pride month that “All the ‘queers for Gaza’ need to open their eyes. Hamas kills gays … kills lesbians … queers cannot exist in Gaza.”
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IAEA pulls inspectors from Iran as standoff over access drags on
IAEA chief Rafael Grossi at the agency’s headquarters in Vienna, Austria, June 23, 2025. REUTERS/Elisabeth Mandl/File Photo
The UN nuclear watchdog said on Friday it had pulled its last remaining inspectors from Iran as a standoff over their return to the country’s nuclear facilities bombed by the United States and Israel deepens.
Israel launched its first military strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites in a 12-day war with the Islamic Republic three weeks ago. The International Atomic Energy Agency’s inspectors have not been able to inspect Iran’s facilities since then, even though IAEA chief Rafael Grossi has said that is his top priority.
Iran’s parliament has now passed a law to suspend cooperation with the IAEA until the safety of its nuclear facilities can be guaranteed. While the IAEA says Iran has not yet formally informed it of any suspension, it is unclear when the agency’s inspectors will be able to return to Iran.
“An IAEA team of inspectors today safely departed from Iran to return to the Agency headquarters in Vienna, after staying in Tehran throughout the recent military conflict,” the IAEA said on X.
Diplomats said the number of IAEA inspectors in Iran was reduced to a handful after the June 13 start of the war. Some have also expressed concern about the inspectors’ safety since the end of the conflict, given fierce criticism of the agency by Iranian officials and Iranian media.
Iran has accused the agency of effectively paving the way for the bombings by issuing a damning report on May 31 that led to a resolution by the IAEA’s 35-nation Board of Governors declaring Iran in breach of its non-proliferation obligations.
IAEA chief Rafael Grossi has said he stands by the report. He has denied it provided diplomatic cover for military action.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Thursday Iran remained committed to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
“[Grossi] reiterated the crucial importance of the IAEA discussing with Iran modalities for resuming its indispensable monitoring and verification activities in Iran as soon as possible,” the IAEA said.
The US and Israeli military strikes either destroyed or badly damaged Iran’s three uranium enrichment sites. But it was less clear what has happened to much of Iran’s nine tonnes of enriched uranium, especially the more than 400 kg enriched to up to 60% purity, a short step from weapons grade.
That is enough, if enriched further, for nine nuclear weapons, according to an IAEA yardstick. Iran says its aims are entirely peaceful, but Western powers say there is no civil justification for enriching to such a high level, and the IAEA says no country has done so without developing the atom bomb.
As a party to the NPT, Iran must account for its enriched uranium, which normally is closely monitored by the IAEA, the body that enforces the NPT and verifies countries’ declarations. But the bombing of Iran’s facilities has now muddied the waters.
“We cannot afford that … the inspection regime is interrupted,” Grossi told a press conference in Vienna last week.
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