During a visit to the Philadelphi Route today (Wednesday), the Defense Minister announced a significant achievement in the fight against Hamas in the Rafah area, stating that Hamas’s Rafah Brigade was defeated and 150 tunnels were destroyed along the route. Gallant emphasized the importance of maintaining the war’s objectives and ensuring their full realization—both regarding Hamas and the hostages. “The most important thing in my view, as a concept, is to remember the war’s objectives, to meet all the war’s objectives—both regarding Hamas and the hostages—and to now look northward, we understand why. This is the situation and this is the reality,” Gallant noted.
During the visit, Gallant met with the 162nd Division forces in the Rafah area and conducted a situational assessment with the division commander, Brigadier General Itzik Cohen, and other senior commanders.
Referring to the tunnels that were destroyed, Gallant said: “We have reached a point where we have destroyed 150 tunnels. Of the 150 we destroyed, about 100 are tunnels that are covered trenches, dug by engineering tools above ground, covered with a meter or two of soil, and they are also easy to find afterward because they appear in photographs, and they are also easy to destroy because you can simply come and destroy them.” He added that “this small remaining number, we will destroy; I have given immediate instructions here.”
The Philadelphi Route is considered a central point of contention in discussions surrounding the hostage deal. While Israel demands to keep forces on the route, Hamas and Egypt oppose it.
The IDF spokesperson addressed the issue last night in a public statement, saying, “The IDF’s role is one: to provide the political echelon with all the security options, all of them, to be creative and determined in this matter. Alongside this, we need to allow the political echelon the decision-making space. We will know how to implement any decision the political echelon makes.”
