Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has clashed with Israeli ceasefire negotiators over his insistence that Israel not withdraw from the Philadelphi Corridor in the southern Gaza Strip, sources familiar with the talks said.
The Philadelphia Corridor, which runs along the border with Egypt, and the Netzarim Corridor, which runs through the middle of the Gaza Strip, are two crucial sticking points in the talks supported by Egypt, Qatar and the United States.
Netanyahu has consistently insisted that Israel will not cede control of the Philadelphi Corridor to prevent Hamas from smuggling weapons from Egypt, and has also stressed the importance of maintaining checkpoints in the Netzarim Corridor to prevent Hamas forces from moving from the southern to the northern part of the Gaza Strip.
The sources said Netanyahu agreed to move one post in Philadelphia by several hundred meters, but would retain full control of the corridor, despite pushes from members of his negotiating team for more concessions.
“The prime minister is adamant that this situation will continue, against pressure from some elements in the negotiating team who are willing to walk away,” said a source familiar with the negotiations.
Television station Channel 12 Israel reported this week that Netanyahu criticized the negotiating team led by David Barnea, the head of Mossad, for making concessions too easily.
More than 10 months after the October 7 attack on Israel that sparked the war, the United States is urging Israel to end hostilities.
Hamas-led armed groups reportedly killed about 1,200 people and kidnapped about 250 hostages as of Oct. 7, according to Israeli figures. Meanwhile, Israeli airstrikes have devastated Gaza and caused more than 40,000 Palestinian deaths, according to local health officials.
Netanyahu faces intense pressure to reach a deal from families of Israeli hostages still in Gaza, many of whom have been critical of his failure to reach a deal. They have joined critics who accuse him of blocking a deal for his own political gain.
But with pressure from hardline cabinet members not to make concessions and polls showing his ratings dropping early in the war, Netanyahu continued to insist that his goal was to destroy Hamas. (ah/ft)
