I'm John Bachelor with my colleague

Jeff McCausen, CBS News, visiting Professor Dickinson College,

the Middle East.

Philadelphia Corridor, it's the dividing line between Gaza Strip and Sinai, the sovereign territory of Egypt.

We're told that there are tunnels, lots of tunnels discovered, some not discovered underneath

the Philadelphia Corridor, some as big as wide as enough for a truck.

And that's been the method of smuggling and reinforcement and training for the Hamas these many years years at least perhaps since 2018.

Israel is insisting it maintains control of Philadelphia corridor.

Cairo says no. The fundamentals here are the Cairo Jerusalem arrangement mutual support

pact is the foundation for much of the Rapprochement in the Middle East these last years but

Jeff that Philadelphia corridor is the way Hamas can win

Israel says it can't give it up what is your measure of Cairo's position? Well, Cairo's position is that they do not

want Israeli forces in the Philadelphia quarter. I think we also have to keep in mind that relationship

between Israel and Egypt has been the foundation for some degree of stability in the Middle East ever since Began and Sadat affected that type of normalization and this might well actually be

placed in jeopardy. The Israelis, most only Mr. Netanyahu will argue as you suggested

John that this is fundamental to bringing weapons into Gaza and fundamental to maintaining Hamas as a

fighting force or rebuilding Hamas as a fighting force in the aftermath.

On the other side, the Egyptians claim of course that most of these tunnels, if not all of them were closed

off years ago.

Those smuggling did occur, but it basically was through bribery and other mechanisms to bring the weapons

into the Gaza Strip.

Last not least, there are many people who are arguing that in reality,

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