Israel vows to fight Hamas all the way to Gaza’s southern border. That’s fueling tension with Egypt

SAMY MAGDY

CAIRO (AP) — Israel and Egypt are engaged in an increasingly public spat over a narrow strip of land between Egypt and Gaza. That strip is the Philadelpi Corridor. The dispute puts Israel in a bind. If it stops its military offensive against Hamas without taking control of the southern Gaza city Rafah on the border with Egypt, it falls short on its top war goal of crushing the Islamic militants. If its military pushes south to the border, it risks undermining its peace deal with Egypt and likely upsetting its closest ally, the United States. The Egypt-Israel peace deal has been a pillar of stability in a turbulent Middle East.