TEL AVIV, May 29. /TASS/. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have taken control of three quarters of the Philadelphi Corridor - the buffer zone on the border of the Gaza Strip and Egypt, the Israeli National Security Council’s chief Tzachi Hanegbi has said.

"In the Gaza Strip, the IDF currently controls 75% of the Philadelphi Corridor. We need to prevent weapons smuggling [in the Gaza Strip] together with the Egyptians," Hanegbi told Kan radio in an interview.

In his opinion, "the war [in the Gaza Strip] will be a long one."

"The fighting is expected to continue for another seven months this year," he argued.