Hamas is calling for pressure on Netanyahu to stick to the agreed ceasefire plan and accuses the Israeli leader of using the Philadelphia corridor to thwart the deal.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his military must maintain unrestricted control over Gaza’s southern border area with Egypt – known as the Philadelphia Corridor – by entrenching itself in a position that threatens to derail ceasefire efforts.
Netanyahu’s stance on the corridor – which was seized by Israeli forces in May – has become the main obstacle to reaching a ceasefire agreement in Gaza, as pressure mounts on the Israeli leader amid mass protests nationwide demanding a deal that brings captives home and international outrage as the number of Palestinians confirmed killed by the Israeli military in Gaza approaches 41,000.
“Gaza must be demilitarized, and that can only happen if the Philadelphia Corridor remains under firm control,” Netanyahu told foreign reporters on Wednesday.
Netanyahu said Israel must maintain control of the corridor to prevent the smuggling of weapons into Gaza and that Israel would only consider withdrawing from the strategic location when it was presented with an alternative plan to monitor the area.
“Bring me somebody who will actually show us that they can actually prevent the resurgence” of trafficking, he said. “I don’t see that happening right now. And until that happens, we’re in it.”
Asked by reporters about a timetable for ending Israel’s war on Gaza, Netanyahu declined to give one.
“How long can we get there? How long it takes to get that victory. And I think we’re getting closer and closer,” he said.
Netanyahu has faced harsh criticism from many Israelis for his position on the Philadelphia corridor, including from within his own military and security establishment, which believes that Israeli troops do not need to be permanently based in Gaza and could instead launch targeted raids if necessary to stop weapons smuggling.
Egypt, which is mediating ceasefire negotiations with the United States and Qatar, has also demanded a concrete timetable for Israel’s withdrawal from the corridor that runs along its border. The United Arab Emirates, which established formal ties with Israel under the 2020 Abraham Accords – intended to normalize Arab-Israeli relations – also criticized Israel’s decision to control the corridor on Wednesday.
In a statement released Thursday, Hamas blamed Netanyahu for the current impasse in ceasefire negotiations and accused the Israeli leader of seeking to prolong the war in Gaza.
“Netanyahu’s decision not to withdraw from the Salah al-Din axis (Philadelphia corridor) aims to prevent the conclusion of an agreement,” Hamas said in the statement.
“We warn against the risk of falling into Netanyahu’s trap and tricks, as he uses negotiations to prolong the aggression against our people,” Hamas said, adding that Israel must be held to an agreement reached earlier this year.
“We do not need new proposals. What is needed now is to put pressure on Netanyahu and his government and force them to respect what has been agreed,” the statement read.
In his speech to reporters on Wednesday, Netanyahu also falsely claimed that Israel’s ground invasion of Rafah in southern Gaza in May forced the first release of Israeli captives held by Hamas in Gaza.
This negotiated release actually took place a few months earlier, in November, as part of a week-long ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.
The truce between Israel and Hamas began on November 24 and has been renewed twice.
Under the deal, fighting was suspended and humanitarian aid was allowed into Gaza, while Hamas released captives in exchange for Israel releasing Palestinian prisoners.
By the end of the six-day truce on November 30, 105 captives had been released by Hamas and 240 Palestinian prisoners had been freed by Israel.