Katz Visits Philadelphi Corridor: ‘Hamas Will Not Rule Here’

View of the Philadelphi Corridor between the southern Gaza Strip and Egypt, on July 15, 2024. (Photo by Oren Cohen/Flash90) (Photo by Oren Cohen/Flash90)

ofIn Gaza, Israel will create ‘security spaces, buffer zones and commanding positions’ that will ensure the security of nearby Israeli communities across the border.

By JNS

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz toured the Philadelphi Corridor, the narrow strip of land bordering the Gaza Strip and Egypt, on Wednesday, vowing that the Israel Defense Forces will maintain security in the area going forward.

Katz was accompanied by IDF Maj. Gen. Yaron Finkelman, commander of the Southern Command, and Brig. Gen. Barak Hiram, commander of the Gaza Division.

“I came to visit inside Gaza to meet the commanders and the fighters who are doing an amazing job, showing bravery, resourcefulness and determination, as they see before their eyes the need to create the conditions for the release of the hostages and ensure the security of the State of Israel,” Katz said.

Promising that the era of Hamas attack tunnels is over, Katz said that the IDF will “act anywhere” it deems necessary to prevent emerging terrorist threats.

On Wednesday, the IDF announced that engineering forces of the Gaza Division’s Southern Brigade, working together with the Combat Engineering Corps’ elite Yahalom unit, destroyed two 1.2-mile-long attack tunnels in the Strip.

Katz said Israel wouldn’t permit the creation of terrorist infrastructure, the organizing of terrorist groups, or any attempts to harm Israel and the soldiers of the IDF—a promise that he applied not only to Gaza but Lebanon, Syria, and threats emanating from further east.

In Gaza, Israel will create “security spaces, buffer zones and commanding positions” that will ensure the security of nearby Israeli communities across the border, he said.

“There will be no ruling Hamas here. There will be no military Hamas here. A different reality will be created here thanks to the fighting that continues every day, even now,” said Katz.

“I met the soldiers as well as reservists, all of them are determined and who say: ‘Keep going, let us continue to the end, ensure security and return the hostages.’ And that’s what we will do,” he added.