Prime Minister Netanyahu's Office Confirms Israeli Troops Will Not Leave Philadelphia Corridor In Gaza

Israeli soldiers claim to have found a tunnel near Philadelphia Corridor. (Wikimedia Commons/Israel Defense Forces)

JAKARTA - Israel did not approve of its troop withdrawal from the Philadelphia Corridor area along the Egyptian border and Gaza Strip, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said, denying the country's television report.

"Israel will insist on achieving all its goals for war, as has been established by the Security Cabinet, including Gaza will never again be a security threat to Israel. This requires security on the southern border," PM Netanyahu's office said in a statement.

The denial came after a report said Israel approved the United States' proposal to withdraw from the Philadelphia Corridor on the Gaza-Egypt border as part of a ceasefire deal and prisoner swap with Hamas, quoted by Anadolu.

Earlier, Israeli public broadcaster KAN reported PM Netanyahu had "approved the United States' proposal to withdraw from the Philadelphia Corridor in the second phase of the deal, while Hamas and Egypt demanded that the area be cleared in the early stages."

Philadelphia Corridor, a 14-kilometer (8.69 miles) demilitarized buffer zone along the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, remains one of the main critical points in negotiations between Israel and Hamas.

It is known that both Hamas and Egypt opposed the deployment of Israeli troops in the Philadelphia Corridor, but PM Netanyahu insisted it was necessary to stop the smuggling of weapons into Gaza.

For months, the US, Qatar, and Egypt have been trying to reach an agreement between Israel and Hamas to ensure exchanges of prisoners and ceasefires and allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza. However, mediation efforts were hampered by PM Netanyahu's refusal to meet Hamas' demands to stop the war.

Most recently, Gaza's ceasefire talks in Qatar last week resulted in no significant breakthrough, although it was said to be better than before. It is planned that the next negotiations will be held in Cairo, Egypt.

Yesterday, Gaza authorities confirmed that the death toll of Palestinians in the region had reached 40,223 people and 92,981 others were injured, since the latest conflict in the region broke out on October 7, 2023, quoted from WAFA.