'If we leave, Hamas will return': Netanyahu firm on controlling Philadelphi Corridor even amid nationwide outrage

Even amid nationwide outrage following the killing of six hostages, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has remained firm on the control of Philadelphi Corridor.

Netanyahu’s demand for Israel to control the Philadelphi Corridor, a narrow strip of 8-9 miles (13-14 kms) of along the Egypt-Gaza border, is the main sticking point in reaching a deal for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the release of hostages. The demand was not part of the original proposal floated in May and outlined by US President Joe Biden in a speech in May. It was added later in July by Netanyahu.

After Israel recovered the bodies of six hostages from a tunnel in Gaza’s Rafah last week, there has been a nationwide outpour of grief and anger at Netanyahu for his failure to secure the release of hostages. There is also anger at his seemingly unnecessary demands stalling the hostage-release deal. Netanyahu, however, has stressed the Israeli control of the Philadelphi Corridor is a must.

In a speech on Monday, Netanyahu said if Israel vacated the Philadelphi Corridor, then the Hamas would rearm, revive, and return to carry out another October 7-like terrorist attack. He said controlling the strip was a “strategic imperative”. He further said the absence of a deal didn’t cause hostages’ deaths.

“We didn’t manage to extricate them. We were very close. It’s terrible, but it didn’t happen because of that decision [on the Philadelphi Corridor.] It happened, first, because they (Hamas) don’t want a deal. I look for every means… to get them home,” said Netanyahu, as per The Times of Israel.

Netanyahu further said that the control of the Philadelphi Corridor was a must for fulfilling three of the war’s four objectives. He said the war aimed “to destroy Hamas, to bring back all of our hostages, to ensure that Gaza will no longer present a threat to Israel, and to safely return the residents of the northern border” and added that “three of those war goals go through one place: the Philadelphi Corridor”.

Netanyahu further said, “That is Hamas’s pipeline for oxygen and rearmament.”

Netanyahu offers non-apology apology

In his speech, Netanyahu said he offered his apology to the family of the hostages killed — even as he stayed firm with the demand to control Philadelphi Corridor.

“I told the families, and I am repeating it here tonight — I ask for your forgiveness that we did not succeed in bringing them back alive. We were close, but we didn’t succeed,” said Netanyahu, as per The Times of Israel.

Even as Netanyahu apologised, the insistence on controlling the Philadelphi Corridor meant that the doors on a deal are effectively closed as both Hamas and Egypt have rejected the demand.

In the Oct. 7 attack, Hamas and allied groups abducted around 250 people and took them to Gaza as hostages. While dozens were released in a brief truce in November 2023 and some others have been rescued in multiple missions, around 100 hostages remained in Gaza — a third of whom are presumed dead. Hamas killed six of them last week whose bodies were recovered by soldiers operating in tunnels in Gaza.

Doubling down further, Netanyahu said Israel must “make permanent the fact that we are there” in the Philadelphi Corridor — an indication that he wants Israel to reoccupy parts of Gaza.

In addition to controlling the Philadelphi Corridor, Netanyahu has also sought checkpoints along another corridor in Gaza, the east-west Netzarim Corridor, to screen the Palestinians returning northwards to their homes to purportedly check no terrorists or arms pass in the midst of civilians. He has also sought a veto on Palestinian prisoners to be released in lieu of Israeli hostages.

In a meeting last week following the recovery of dead hostages, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant had said the insistence to control the Philadelphi Corridor at the cost of hostages’ lives was a “moral disgrace”. The Israeli military is also not onboard with the demand as it maintains it would have the capacity to secure the region even if it withdraws from but Netanyahu has overruled Gallant, the military, and the intelligence officials to remain firm with the demand to the control the strip.