Israel’s Offensive Against Hamas Raises Concerns for Peace with Egypt
Israel’s ongoing offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip is causing concerns for its peace with neighboring Egypt. The two countries are currently in a dispute over the Philadelphi Corridor, a demilitarized buffer zone on the border between Egypt and Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claims that Hamas continues to smuggle weapons under the border, a claim that Egypt vehemently denies.
Egypt is worried that an Israeli attack on the southern town of Rafah will result in a massive influx of Palestinians into its Sinai Peninsula. Currently, over 1 million Palestinians are crowded into Rafah and its surroundings, having fled Israeli bombardment and ground offensives in other parts of Gaza. In 2008, Hamas blew open the border wall, allowing thousands of people to storm into Egypt. As a result, Egypt has demanded that Israel allow Palestinians to return to northern Gaza before any ground assault on Rafah takes place.
This puts Israel in a difficult position. If it stops its offensive without taking control of Rafah, it will fall short of its goal of crushing Hamas. However, pushing to the border risks undermining its peace deal with Egypt and upsetting its closest ally, the United States. Israel and the U.S. already have differing opinions on Gaza’s post-war future, with Israel working to create a buffer zone inside Gaza to prevent militant attacks, while the U.S. opposes any attempts to shrink Gaza’s territory.
Israel is determined to expunge militants from the entire Gaza Strip and has been systematically destroying infrastructure and tunnels used by Hamas. Netanyahu has stated that Israel intends to maintain security control over Gaza to prevent future attacks. Closing the Philadelphi Corridor is crucial to this plan, but Egypt has warned that any military operations in the zone could jeopardize their peace.
The Philadelphi Corridor is a narrow strip of land along the Gaza-Egypt border, including the Rafah crossing, which is Gaza’s only outlet not controlled by Israel. It is part of a larger demilitarized zone along the Israel-Egypt border. Smuggling tunnels were previously used to bypass the Israeli-Egyptian blockade, but Egypt has cracked down on these tunnels in recent years. Egypt argues that it now has complete control over the border and that Israeli claims of continued smuggling are lies.
Israeli researcher Kobi Michael argues that the quantity of Hamas weapons found during the offensive proves that smuggling continues and that Israel must have power to monitor the border. However, Alon Ben-David, a military affairs correspondent for Israel’s Channel 13 TV, claims that 90% of the weapons in Gaza are produced locally and that Egypt’s crackdown on smuggling has been effective.
The ongoing dispute between Israel and Egypt over the Philadelphi Corridor highlights the challenges both countries face in maintaining peace while pursuing their respective goals. The outcome of this conflict will have significant implications for the stability of the Middle East and the relationship between Israel, Egypt, and the United States.