The border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt must be closed. This statement was made by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
According to him, if this is not done, the war against Hamas will not be finished.
"We will destroy Hamas, we will demilitarize the Gaza Strip, but military equipment and other deadly weapons will continue to flow into this southern passage (border with Egypt - ed.), so of course we need to close it",
Prime Minister of the Jewish State said.
According to CNN, it is about the 14-kilometer Philadelphi Corridor. It is a strip of land that serves as a buffer zone on Egypt's border with the enclave.
Israel notes that this blockade is necessary to protect its citizens from radicals.
Netanyahu noted that the country's authorities did not yet know how the Jewish state would act if the border was closed. The media note that after establishing full control over the corridor, Israel intends to replace the Palestinian border guards with its own at the Rafah checkpoint, which plays an important role in delivering aid to the enclave.
Earlier, the Wall Street Journal reported that Israel had informed Egypt of its plans to launch an operation on its border with the Gaza Strip.
Mass protests
The day before, a mass protest took place in Tel Aviv, in which about 120 thousand people took part. They gathered near the Ministry of Defense complex and called for the release of all hostages who were captured by Palestinian radicals in early October, The Times of Israel reports.
This rally marked the start of events dedicated to 100 days since the Hamas attack on Israel. They will go all over the country within 24 hours.
In parallel with this demonstration, a rally took place in the city center. Its participants demanded new elections. They blocked the highway in the east of the city. As a result, the police detained several people.
Several thousand people staged a protest at which they demanded that the Netanyahu's government resign. In addition to this, they called for early elections in the city of Haifa.
