The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced on Thursday that its troops had successfully “dismantled” Hamas’ Rafah brigade in the Philadelphi Corridor, a key area where Hamas has been known to construct cross-border tunnels into Egypt.

In a statement, the IDF said that its soldiers in the 162nd Division had conducted “precise, intelligence-based, targeted operations in the Rafah area over the last few months” and “eliminated over 2,000 terrorists.”

Israeli forces reportedly destroyed 8 miles of underground passageways and have neutralized approximately 80% of all Hamas’ tunnels on the corridor, which borders Egypt.

The Rafah brigade was considered one of Hamas’ last remaining strongholds, according to the IDF.

Israeli forces continue to conduct operations in the Tel al-Sultan area, situated in the southwestern part of Gaza and just north of the Philadelphi Corridor, where tunnels are still being found and destroyed.

The IDF reported that during an operation in the Tel A-Sultan area, launched a couple of weeks ago, Commander of the Tel al-Sultan Battalion Mahmoud Hamdan was killed along with 250 other Hamas terrorists.

The Philadelphi Corridor has become a major point of contention as the U.S. seeks to establish a cease-fire agreement with the assistance of Qatar and Egypt, between Israel and Hamas.

However, negotiations appear to have stalled as Hamas has indicated that it will not cease hostilities as long as Israeli forces remain in the security corridor in Gaza. Similarly, Jerusalem has rejected any calls for it to withdraw from the corridor, citing security concerns stemming from not only existing Hamas terrorists in Gaza, but also threats posed from the Sinai Peninsula.

Securing the release of all hostages taken by the Hamas terrorist group also remains a top priority for Israel, as officials have warned that there are increasing concerns that hostages could be smuggled out of Gaza through the Sinai Peninsula and into the hands of the Iranians.

Brig. Gen. Itzik Cohen, commander of the 162nd Division, told the Times of Israel that his troops had identified 203 separate but interconnected tunnels in the Philadelphi Corridor, nine of which crossed over the border with Egypt.

The commander also noted that all nine tunnels had been rendered inoperable before they were discovered by IDF soldiers, either by Egyptian or Hamas forces.

The remaining tunnels that have not yet been destroyed are currently being investigated and will be neutralized once all searches of the tunnels are complete.