Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted that his country must retain its control of Gaza's border with Egypt, which has been criticized for undermining cease-fire efforts.
Netanyahu’s comments came as the United States is developing a new proposal for a cease-fire and hostage release, hoping to break a long deadlock and bring an end to Israel's 11 monthlong attacks on Gaza, which killed at least 40,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children.
The question of Israeli control of the Philadelphi corridor – a narrow strip of land along Gaza’s border with Egypt, seized by troops in May – has become a central obstacle in the talks. Hamas has demanded an eventual full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza in the multi-phase truce deal.
Egypt, a mediator in the talks along with the U.S. and Qatar, has also demanded a concrete timeline for Israeli troops to leave the Philadelphi corridor. And on Wednesday, the United Arab Emirates, which established formal ties with Israel in the 2020 Abraham Accords, also criticized the Israeli stance.
Speaking to foreign journalists, Netanyahu repeated his stance that Israel must maintain its hold on the border to prevent Hamas from rearming by allegedly smuggling weapons into Gaza.
He said Israel would only consider withdrawing from the corridor when presented with an alternative force to police it.
"Bring me anyone who will actually show us... that they can actually prevent the recurrence” of smuggling, he said. "I don’t see that happening right now. And until that happens, we’re there.”
Families of remaining hostages have stepped up their demands that he agree to a deal after six hostages held by Hamas were killed last week. In angry public statements, hostage families have accused Netanyahu of blocking a deal and potentially sacrificing their loved ones’ lives for the sake of holding the border strip. Hundreds of thousands of Israelis have taken to the streets in recent days, calling for a deal and saying time is running out to bring home the hostages alive.
Netanyahu pushed back against the pressure, saying his stance was necessary to "ensure Hamas doesn’t pose a threat to Israel.”
"I can understand the torment of families,” he said. "But the responsibility of leaders is not merely to share the sentiment, the emotion, but also to exercise judgment.”
Asked by journalists for a timeline on ending the war, he refused to give one. "How long can we do this? As long as it takes to achieve this victory. And I think we’re getting a lot closer,” he said.
Netanyahu repeatedly insisted holding the border would also pressure Hamas to release hostages. At one point, he erroneously claimed the invasion of Rafah in May forced Hamas’ first release of hostages - which took place months earlier in November under a weeklong cease-fire deal. He then said the deal was "the result of our invasion, the military pressure we put on them.”
Netanyahu's insistence on maintaining a military presence in the 14-kilometer (9-mile) Philadelphi Corridor along the Gaza-Egypt border is scuttling the possibility of a cease-fire deal, according to U.S. media.
Citing officials involved as mediators in indirect negotiations for a cease-fire and prisoner exchange agreement between the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas, and Israel in the Gaza Strip, The Washington Post reported Tuesday that Netanyahu's insistence has "become the main obstacle to a cease-fire and hostage release agreement with Hamas."
Two senior officials pointed out that if Hamas and Israel reject the final "take-it-or-leave-it" proposal presented by the Biden administration, the U.S.-led talks could end.
Another senior American official said a "U.S.-trained Palestinian force is the most likely arrangement" to secure the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt.
Also, a former Egyptian official noted that after the EU expressed a readiness to resume its observer role at the Rafah crossing, Cairo would welcome an EU presence.
Israeli activist Gershon Baskin claimed that in May, he received a green light from members of the Israeli hostage negotiating team to open a secret back channel with Hamas.
"It lasted for all of two weeks before I was shut down. Israel is trying to sell to the public that there are negotiations going on, but there are no real negotiations going on," said Baskin.
A statement from the Israeli Prime Minister's Office reported that Baskin "has not been, nor is, part of the official or indirect negotiations that Israel has been conducting since the events of October 7."
On the other hand, the prime minister's office refused to comment on Netanyahu's stance on the Philadelphi Corridor.
Netanyahu renewed his refusal Monday to withdraw from the Philadelphi Corridor – a demilitarized area along Egypt's border with Gaza.
Cairo accused Netanyahu of "trying to involve Egypt to divert Israeli public opinion and obstruct a cease-fire and hostage swap deal, as well as hindering mediation efforts by Egypt, Qatar, and the U.S."
