Israel Captures Entire Gaza Border with Egypt

On Wednesday, the Israeli army announced that its forces have taken control of a buffer zone along the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, marking Israel's control over all land borders of Palestine. Israel also continued its deadly attacks on the city of Rafah, located in southern Gaza, despite a ruling from the International Court of Justice to cease attacks on this city, which has sheltered about half of the 2.3 million population of the Gaza Strip. Daniel Hagari, spokesperson for the Israeli army, stated in a television report that Israeli forces have gained 'operational' control over the 'Philadelphi Corridor,' a 14-kilometer stretch along the Gaza-Egypt border. Hagari noted, 'The Philadelphi Corridor is like oxygen for Hamas, which regularly uses it to smuggle weapons into the Gaza Strip.' The spokesperson did not elaborate on the meaning of 'operational' control, but a prior Israeli military official had mentioned that Israeli ground forces are now stationed in some areas of the corridor. The border with Egypt along southern Gaza was the only land border of the Gaza Strip that Israeli forces had not yet taken control of. 'One million' Palestinians have fled Rafah; Washington expresses deep concern over Israel's attack. On Wednesday, Israeli tanks attacked the city of Rafah. Despite a ruling from the UN's Supreme Court for an immediate halt to attacks on this city, Israeli tanks reached the center of Rafah on Tuesday. The International Court of Justice states that Israel has yet to explain how it can safely evacuate Palestinian refugees from Rafah and provide them with food, water, and medicine. The ruling also obliges the extremist group Hamas to immediately release Israeli hostages taken during the attack on southern Israel on October 7. According to Rafah residents, Israeli tanks entered the Tal al-Sultan area in the west and the Yabna area in central Rafah on Wednesday, then retreated towards the buffer zone at the border with Egypt. Israel's military operations in Gaza have faced opposition from the international community. However, Israel claims that these operations are necessary to eradicate the extremist group Hamas, which the United States and many other Western countries consider terrorist.