"What will Egypt say?" This is how the Israeli newspaper "Israel Hayom" began its report on a major dilemma facing the Israeli army in the Palestinian city of Rafah, adjacent to the Egyptian border. The Hebrew newspaper added that during the fighting in Gaza to date, the Israeli army has refrained from conducting an extensive ground operation in the city of Rafah and its surroundings on the Egyptian border, and the next issue expected to come before the military cabinet is military activity in that area.
"Israel Today" learned that the Israeli government is planning a ground invasion in the city of Rafah and the Philadelphia area, and that when it comes to doing so, it will promote a complete cleansing operation for the city adjacent to the Egyptian border, as occurred in other parts of the Gaza Strip. The report continued: "So far, the Israeli army has been limited to aerial strikes along the Salah al-Din axis (Philadelphia) next to the Egyptian border, and although it is known that Hamas's military and civilian infrastructure still exists there, there are reasonable doubts that smuggling tunnels still remain under the city's houses, thus indicating the need for a ground invasion in that area."
The Hebrew newspaper stated that the Israeli army's dilemma lies in the fact that half of those tunnels are located in the Gaza Strip and half are under Egyptian sovereignty, and they may still be active. As long as the Israeli army has not fully cleansed the city, there is no certainty that the flow of weapons will stop. The report added: "Another disputed area is the Philadelphia axis near Rafah, which has enormous strategic importance. Even before Israel withdrew from it in 2005, it was critical in preventing weapons smuggling into Gaza. Despite a widespread agreement that there would be significant benefits in seizing it, Israel has avoided doing so thus far."
However, it should be noted that since the outbreak of war, the Israeli army has already carried out several operations in the southern city. The report continued: "In this context, it is important to note that Egypt and other regional and international actors are expected to play an important role in managing the sector in the aftermath of the war."
Israeli media revealed that Tel Aviv has requested Cairo to allow it to deploy Israeli forces at the Rafah crossing to thwart any attempt to "smuggle Israeli captives or escape Hamas leaders into Sinai." The Israeli newspaper "Ma'ariv" reported that Israel is currently considering managing the "Philadelphia axis" – Salah al-Din axis – adjacent to the Egyptian border with the Gaza Strip, adding that addressing the Philadelphia axis is particularly complex.
The Hebrew newspaper explained that, according to estimates, it seems that the war will enter a new phase after the current intense operation in Khan Younis, the Shuja'iyya neighborhood, and the Jabalia refugee camp, and perhaps also in the refugee camps in central Gaza.
