Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday evening (4/9) remained adamant that Israel must maintain control of the so-called Philadelphia corridor to prevent Hamas from smuggling weapons into Gaza.
The corridor lies on the Gaza side of the border with Egypt and has been a major stumbling block in talks aimed at ending the Israel-Hamas war and releasing hostages.
“I am committed to returning the remaining 101 hostages. I will do everything I can to bring them home. But leaving Philadelphia will not speed up the release of the hostages,” the Israeli leader said.
But many Israelis, including their own defense minister, say Israel must release the corridor, at least for a short time, to bring back the remaining hostages held in Gaza.
The debate over the corridor reached a peak after the killing of six hostages who were due to be returned alive if the deal was reached.
Israel attacked Gaza after the Hamas militant group killed more than 1,200 people and took 253 others hostage in a cross-border terror attack on October 7, 2023.
The Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza, a Hamas-run territory, said at least 40,786 Palestinians had been killed in Israeli ground and air strikes as of Sept. 4. Another 94,224 were injured.
The war has caused widespread destruction, forcing most of Gaza's 2.3 million residents to flee their homes, often multiple times, and creating a humanitarian catastrophe.
Hamas accused Israel of slowing down months of talks by issuing new demands, including maintaining Israeli control over the Philadelphia corridor along the Egyptian border and a second corridor running through Gaza.
Hamas has offered to release all hostages in exchange for an end to the war, a complete Israeli withdrawal and the release of a large number of Palestinian prisoners; these are broadly the terms of the deal proposed by President Joe Biden in July.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has promised “total victory” over Hamas and blamed Hamas for the failure of negotiations. (em/lt)
