Israeli troops push 4 km into Gaza: IDF spokesman

Israel Defense Forces (IDF) pushed four km deep into southern Gaza Strip along the Philadelphi Route and found five tunnels for smuggling weapons on Wednesday, an IDF spokesman told Xinhua.

The tunnels were uncovered when IDF units carried out operations along the Philadelphi Route for the first time since Israeli troops' disengagement over a year ago, the spokesman said, adding the IDF intended to demolish the tunnels.

The Philadelphi Route, which remains under direct Israeli military control according to the Oslo Accords, is a strip of land along the border between Egypt and the Gaza Strip.

Meanwhile, Defense Minister Amir Peretz told a Knesset (parliament) plenum on Wednesday that the IDF had no intention of reoccupying the Gaza Strip.

"I am announcing unequivocally that we have no intention of reoccupying Gaza," he said.

But he reiterated that it was the government's duty to defend Israeli citizens and to prevent the Gaza Strip from turning into southern Lebanon.

Source: Xinhua