Dov Lieber
WSJ, May 29, 2024
“American diplomatic support and weapons supply depend on Israel’s ability to manage a balance between accomplishing its military objectives in Rafah and appeasing the Biden administration.”
Israel said it has secured control of Gaza’s southern border with Egypt, achieving a key goal of the Rafah offensive as it seeks to eliminate Hamas without crossing red lines set by President Biden.
Israeli officials say taking control of the roughly 9-mile border, known as the Philadelphi Corridor, will allow Israel to prevent Hamas from rearming by smuggling weapons through tunnels that reach into Egypt. Israel last controlled the corridor in 2005, before relinquishing control of the enclave to the Palestinians.
The latest advance also risks sparking new tensions between Israel and Egypt. An Israeli military official said Israel had so far found 20 cross-border tunnels in the area, some already known to Israel and Egypt and some that were unknown before the operation.
The official said Israel had informed Egypt about cross-border tunnels it had found. Israel has said it hoped to work with Egypt to prevent future smuggling. A senior Egyptian official said Israel hadn’t communicated to Cairo anything about the tunnels and said Israel was “using these allegations to justify continuing the Rafah operation.” … [To read the full article, click here]