Israel is considering retaking control of Gaza’s border with Egypt, the Wall Street Journal reports. Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, say Israel must have a grip on the border area, which the Israeli military calls the Philadelphi Corridor, to block Hamas from smuggling weapons into the strip.
Israeli officials have informed Egypt that they are planning a military operation along the Gaza side of the border, current and former Israeli officials and Egyptian officials said. The operation would likely involve removing Palestinian officials from a key crossing point and stationing Israeli forces along a stretch of land from Gaza’s southeastern corner abutting both Israel and Egypt toward the Mediterranean Sea about 8 miles to the northwest, the officials said.
Asked about this last night, Netanyahu replied that this was “one possibility for what I call a southern barrier.”
