Israeli forces have taken control of a buffer zone along the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt.
"The Philadelphi Corridor served as an oxygen line for Hamas, which it regularly used to smuggle weapons into the area of the Gaza Strip" © JCPA
Israeli forces have taken control of a buffer zone along the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, the country's military said on Wednesday, giving Israel effective authority over the Palestinian territory's entire land border.
In a televised briefing, chief military spokesperson Daniel Hagari said Israeli forces had gained "operational" control over the "Philadelphi Corridor", using the Israeli military's code name for the 14 km-long (9 mile) corridor along the Gaza Strip's only border with Egypt.
"The Philadelphi Corridor served as an oxygen line for Hamas, which it regularly used to smuggle weapons into the area of the Gaza Strip," Hagari said. Hamas is the armed Palestinian group that governs the blockaded territory.
The border with Egypt along the southern edge was the Gaza Strip's only land border that Israel had not controlled directly.
Earlier on Wednesday, Israel sent tanks on raids into Rafah. They had moved into the heart of Rafah for the first time on Tuesday despite an order from the top United Nations court to immediately halt the assault on the city.
By Nidal al-Mughrabi
The body of Hashem Safieddine, who was slated to replace slain Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah and was targeted in an Israeli attack on the Dahieh earlier this month, was found.
Lebanon's Hezbollah movement said on Tuesday there would be no negotiations while fighting continued with Israel and it claimed sole responsibility for a drone attack on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's holiday home.
Concerns over a wider conflict in the Middle East have prompted international airlines to suspend flights to the region or to avoid affected air space.
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