Egypt uncovers and eliminates over 2,000 covert Gaza underground passages, confidential records disclose.
Informal Take: Secret military documents, allegedly from an army insider, shed light on Egypt's war against tunnels between Sinai and Gaza. Some 2,000 tunnels were reportedly destroyed between 2011 and 2015, with senior military officials considering the idea of digging a canal along the border as an alternative.
These documents provide a rare glimpse into the military's operations in the North Sinai governorate. Despite the government's secrecy about its activities in Rafah, it had waged a brutal and destructive operation against local militants since 2013. Israel, frequently critical of Egypt's efforts to eliminate smuggling tunnels, claims weapons used against them were smuggled via Gaza.
The documents reveal specific details about Egyptian attempts to destroy tunnels, with over 2,000 of them destroyed by flooding, engineering tools, and explosives between 2011 and 2015. A canal proposal was also under consideration but it's unclear whether it was successfully implemented.
Bulldozers were seen digging along the border in 2015, prompting Palestinian condemnation. A study conducted by Egyptian authorities concluded that the soil along the proposed canal was impermeable to water, making it impossible to smuggle weapons. The Egyptian government has denied Israeli allegations, claiming they've destroyed over 1,500 tunnels over the past decade.
These operations escalated after President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi came to power in July 2013, with the city of Rafah being almost completely razed to create a buffer zone. Thousands of buildings were destroyed, displacing thousands of Bedouin residents and eliminating around 685 hectares of farmland.
ISrael has blockaded Gaza since Hamas gained control in 2007, turning it into an "open-air prison." The Rafah crossing was the only entry point not directly controlled by Israel, but it has been closed frequently, making tunnels the main source of imports. The destruction of tunnels has been a longtime Israeli goal, with the construction of a wall along the Gaza-Egypt border reportedly in Israel's post-war plans.
- The leaked military documents offer an unprecedented insight into the politics of war-and-conflicts in the Middle East, specifically Egypt's destructive operations against local militants in the North Sinai governorate.
- Despite the general-news media's scarce coverage and the Egyptian government's veil of secrecy, the documents reveal that Egypt has been engaging in a brutal war-and-conflicts against militants in Rafah since 2013.
- The analysis of these documents shows that Israel, a frequent critic, has accused Egypt of allowing weapons used against it to be smuggled via Gaza, a claim which Egypt has consistently denied.
- Furthermore, these documents offer insights into the human rights implications of Egypt's war-and-conflicts, with the city of Rafah being almost completely demolished, displacing thousands and eliminating around 685 hectares of farmland.
- In the realm of Middle East politics, the revelation of these operations and their consequences raises questions about Egypt's role in the region, particularly in the human rights and security issues associated with the Gaza Strip.
- The media's coverage of these operations and their impact on issues like smuggling, human rights, and regional politics will likely become a focal point of news and analysis in the coming days.
