Amid Trump’s Warning of ‘WWIII,’ Israel Destroys Terror Tunnels along Philadelphi Corridor

During a town hall event in Pennsylvania Wednesday, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump asserted that the foreign policy decisions of the Biden-Harris administration are leading the world closer to “World War III” in light of the ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia and Israel’s multi-front war against terror groups. The comments come as Israel’s prime minister insists on keeping control of the border between Gaza and Egypt in order to maintain the security of the Jewish state.

“We won’t have World War III when I’m elected,” Trump insisted during the event hosted by Fox News host Sean Hannity. “But with these clowns that you have in there now, you’re going to end up having World War III, and it’s going to be a war … like no other.”

Trump went on to claim that the policies of his administration during his first term would have kept Russia and Iran in check, thereby preventing Russia from invading Ukraine and Hamas from attacking Israel. “We have things going on in the world right now with Israel and with the Middle East. … It’s blowing up. We have Ukraine and Russia. … That would have never happened. October 7th would have never happened if I were the president. … And everybody knew it. Iran was broke. They didn’t have the money for Hamas and for Hezbollah. They didn’t have the money for anybody.”

Meanwhile, U.S. officials are continuing to pressure Israel to agree to a ceasefire deal with Hamas despite the terrorist group murdering six Israeli hostages last weekend, claiming on Thursday that an agreement is “90% completed.” But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stated repeatedly this week that there will be no deal without Israel being able to maintain control of the Philadelphi Corridor, a strategic strip of land along the southern border between Gaza and Egypt. CNN reported Thursday that the current agreement “makes no mention” of the corridor.

On Thursday, CBN News Middle East Bureau Chief Chris Mitchell joined “Washington Watch” to shed light on the current situation in Israel and explain the significance of the Philadelphi Corridor.

“One of the main points [Netanyahu] was making last night was the fact that there’s a very strategic piece of land on the Egyptian-Gazan border [called] the Philadelphi Corridor, and that’s where they’ve discovered more than 150 smuggling tunnels,” he explained. “And actually, it was right near there where they found these six Israelis that were executed. This has been the oxygen allowing Hamas to arm itself and become what some people have called the largest terror base in the world. Now that those tunnels have been uncovered [and] many or most of them destroyed, Israel maintains that it needs to control this land to make sure that [Hamas] does not rearm and regroup.”

Mitchell added that senior Egyptian military leaders “are trying to put pressure on Israel to withdraw from that area. But it’s hard to imagine Egypt having more than 150 tunnels right along the Egyptian-Gaza border and not know what was happening. There are some who speculate that many of the Egyptian generals or officials could have been complicit, or at least turn[ed] a blind eye to what was happening for many, many years. Some of these tunnels, vehicles could drive through.”

Mitchell further noted that Israel’s forces are getting closer to achieving their military goals in Gaza. “It does remain [their] goal not only to destroy Hamas as a fighting force, but also make sure that Hamas can no longer govern the … Gaza Strip. They are close to that goal. Rafah was the last main stronghold [of] Hamas, and they have degraded or destroyed most of the 24 battalions of Hamas. There do remain pockets of resistance in northern Gaza, for example.”

Mitchell concluded by contending that the U.S.-led international pressure on Israel to agree to a deal with Hamas is “ironic” considering who is leading the negotiations.

“Egypt and Qatar in particular … have been aiding Hamas,” he argued. “Egypt, because of the many tunnels on its … sovereign territory that go into Gaza, and Qatar, which has been funding to the tune of billions of dollars for the last 17 years since Hamas took over the Gaza Strip. Those are the ones that are actually part of the negotiating team. So many people say, put the pressure on Hamas, put the pressure on Qatar, and put the pressure on Egypt and not Israel.”