Hommam Al Nassim 
A high-ranking Egyptian source denied Israeli reports about the existence of tunnels under the border between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, following the Israeli army’s announcement of the destruction of a tunnel in the Rafah crossing area.
The Egyptian source told Cairo News Channel: “Israel is continuing its attempts to export lies about the conditions of its forces in Rafah to obscure its failure militarily and to get out of its political crisis.”
The source continued: “There is no truth to what the Israeli media reported about the existence of tunnels on the Egyptian border with the Gaza Strip, and these lies express the magnitude of the crisis facing the Israeli government.”
Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari said that the army took full control of the Philadelphia axis (which runs along the Egyptian border with Gaza).
Hagari added that they found tunnels and missile platforms in the Philadelphia axis and that the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) exploited it in its operations, according to his claim.
The axis served as a buffer zone between Gaza and Egypt, and Israeli forces patrolled it until 2005, when Israel withdrew its forces as part of the disengagement plan from the Gaza Strip.
Israel claims that the axis is used to smuggle weapons to Palestinian factions in Gaza.
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