THE Israeli army he says he has established “operational control” throughout the so-called Philadelphia Corridor — which stretches for a total of 14 kilometers (8.7 miles) along the length of the border Gaza-Egyptas reported by The Times of Israel.

IDF troops are of course on most of the runway. There is a small section near the coast where ground forces are not present, but the IDF says it controls the area with surveillance and firepower.

Along the corridor, next to Rafah, the IDF has so far identified about 20 tunnels that pass into Egypt. Hamas is known to use such tunnels to transport weapons into Gaza.

The IDF believes that Hamas can no longer smuggle weapons from Egypt as the army controls the area.

Some of the tunnels were already known to the IDF and others were discovered for the first time. Some have already been demolished and Israel is also informing Egypt of developments.

Another 82 tunnel shafts were located in the Philadelphia runway area, according to the military.

Dozens of rocket launchers were also discovered along the runway, just twelve meters from the Egyptian border. The Israeli military believes that Hamas placed the rocket launchers along the runway in an attempt to prevent Israel from hitting them, thinking that Israel would fear overrun into Egypt.