Friday, January 04, 2019
Elder of Ziyon
The Egyptian army announced on Thursday that 37 tunnels were destroyed on the border with the Gaza Strip in 2018.
The army began a massive operation to destroy tunnels to Gaza in September 2015. The tunnels had been used not only to smuggle weapons and goods to Gaza but also by jihadists in the Sinai to maintain ties with jihadist groups in Gaza.
Egypt used to blame Hamas for much of the ISIS-related activity in the Sinai but lately it has been trying to work for reconciliation between the Palestinian Authority and Hamas, with little luck.
The army statement also said that it caught and arrested nearly 19,000 illegal immigrants from various countries trying to get to Europe via Egypt.
