It's possible to move hostages from Gaza to Egypt by tunnels, says former deputy IDF chief

Former IDF Deputy Chief of Staff and Chairman of Commanders for Israel's Security Maj.-Gen. (ret.) Matan Vilnai recently spoke about the Gaza War and the hostages on Israel's 104.5 FM.

During the interview with host Yoav Mintz, Vilnai was asked if there was any possibility that hostages had been transferred to Egypt through tunnels under the Rafah border between Gaza and Egypt.

“Anything is possible,” Vilnai stated. “Technically, it is possible to transfer abductees from Gaza to the Egyptian side through the tunnels along the Philadelphi route.”

The former deputy chief said Hamas had the ability to do so but Egypt would be more likely to help Israel.

“If Hamas thinks it's best, it can do that. Egypt has an interest in helping us, but theoretically it could happen,” Vilnai said. He also believes Israel should have started negotiating for the hostages before beginning the ground campaign in Gaza.

"The issue of abductees is the first. First of all, it had to be dealt with before going to war," Vilnai stressed, adding that, in his opinion, Israel should first recover the abductees and then finish the war against Hamas.

“When we have the abductees, we can go out and mow down Hamas.”

Vilnai said the Philadelphi Corridor is where the “real events” are happening. The corridor is a narrow strip of land, almost 9 miles long, that runs along the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, separating the town of Rafah into two.

“The real events on the Philadelphi Corridor are happening beneath the axis and began in my time,” Vilnai claimed.

He said that Israel is dependent on “full coordination with the Egyptians” to maintain control of the corridor and prevent the smuggling of weapons or people.

"From the little I knew, the Egyptians behaved properly,” Vilnai said regarding his stint as deputy chief for the Israeli military. “Controlling it has other difficulties.”

Vilnai also addressed the fighting in Rafah, where the IDF is trying to take down the remaining Hamas brigades.

“At the moment it is fighting against the last remaining Hamas brigades. They need to be harmed and dismantled within a dense population.”

The former IDF leader said that when fighting in such conditions, “It is absolutely clear that there will be glitches. This is unfortunate.”

Addressing the recent airstrike that killed more than 25 civilians in Rafah, Vilnai said the IDF “is under a global microscope.”

On May 26, an IDF aircraft targeted a Hamas compound in Rafah, eliminating two senior Hamas commanders. Following a strike, there was reportedly a secondary explosion, igniting a fire near a displaced persons camp, resulting in the deaths of Palestinian civilians.

The incident is still under investigation, while Israel argues that the strike was "against legitimate targets under international law."

Vilnai affirmed the IDF’s stance that weapons alone would not have caused such a large conflagration.

“I saw the aerial photographs. The army acted correctly and there were secondary explosions of Hamas munitions and they made this disaster,” Vilnai claimed.