Illustrative: An aid convoy’s trucks loaded with supplies send by Long Live Egypt Fund are seen at the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, in this handout picture obtained by Reuters on May 23, 2021. The Egyptian Presidency/Handout via REUTERS

i24 News – Israel has notified Egypt it is preparing to operate along the Philadelphi Corridor on the border between Egypt and Gaza, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday.

The announcement could ratchet up the tensions between Jerusalem and Cairo.

Israel leadership believes control of the border area is key to block Hamas from smuggling weapons into Gaza.

The operation is likely to involve removing Hamas from a key crossing point and stationing Israel Defense Forces (IDF) troops along a stretch of land from Gaza’s southeastern corner abutting both Israel and Egypt, WSJ cited Israeli officials as saying.

“There is no chance we will allow this crossing to operate as it did before,” Michael Milshtein, a former head of the Department for Palestinians Affairs in Israeli military intelligence, told the publication.