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Israel will not remove its troops from a narrow strip of land on the Gaza side of the border with Egypt until there is a guarantee it can never be used as a supply line for Hamas, Benjamin Netanyahu has said.

The area of scrubland and sand dunes, known as the Philadelphi corridor, was seized by his forces in May and has become a key obstacle in talks to try to secure a ceasefire with Hamas in Gaza.

The Israeli prime minister has insisted on retaining control of the corridor, where his troops have uncovered dozens of tunnels which officials say have been used to supply Hamas with weapons and ammunition.

He told foreign media that his country’s three “war goals”: destroying Hamas, releasing all hostages and ensuring Gaza never again poses a threat to Israel, could not be achieved without control of the corridor.

Mr Netanyahu repeated his outright rejection of a withdrawal from the Philadelphi corridor in the first phase of a truce deal, expected to last 42 days, saying international pressure would make it effectively impossible to return.

For a permanent ceasefire to be agreed upon after that, Israel would need guarantees that whoever ran postwar Gaza would be able to prevent the corridor from being used as a route for smuggling weapons and supplies for Hamas.

The message was similar to one Mr Netanyahu presented to Israeli media on Tuesday and also one which Ron Dermer, a close aide to the prime minister and Israeli minister of strategic affairs, gave in an interview with Sky News’ Yalda Hakim on Wednesday.

Mr Dermer said Hamas’s massacre in southern Israel on 7 October last year “couldn’t have happened” if the corridor had been closed and if Israel gave up control it would put the country at risk of repeated attacks.

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Is Israel building a new Gaza corridor?

“If you want to release the hostages, you have got to control the corridor,” Mr Netanyahu said, explaining his position in detail.

“Gaza must be demilitarised and this can only happen if the Philadelphi corridor remains under firm control and is not a supply line.”

He also hit out at international pressure to “end the war” and accept a hostage deal with Hamas – which US, Qatari, and Egyptian negotiators have been working to secure for months.

What is the Philadelphi corridor?


Ian Collier

Ian Collier

News reporter

The Philadelphi corridor is a strip of land along Gaza’s border with Egypt, including the Rafah crossing.

Spanning nine miles (14km) in length and 100 metres wide it was introduced as a demilitarised border zone after the withdrawal of Israeli settlements and troops from Gaza in 2005.

Before 2005, a 1979 treaty with Egypt allowed it to have a limited number of troops in the corridor but no heavy armour.

After 2005 it became the responsibility of Egypt and the Palestinian Authority.

Hundreds of Egyptian police were stationed there to prevent weapons smuggling, until Hamas took control of Gaza in 2007.

In May 2024, it was seized by Israel as its Gaza ground offensive pushed into Rafah.

However, Egypt continues to be against a major Israeli military presence on the border.

“People said ‘If you stay, this will kill the deal’, but such a deal will kill us,” Mr Netanyahu stated.

“If we leave there will not be any pressure points and we won’t get the hostages, the real obstacle to getting a deal is Hamas.”

If agreed, a deal would see the release of the remaining 101 hostages who have been held since the 7 October attack, in which more than 1,200 people were killed and over 250 taken hostage.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference for the international media at the Government Press office in Jerusalem, 04 September 2024. ABIR SULTAN/Pool via REUTERS
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The prime minister says a hostage deal without Israeli troops on the corridor will ‘kill’ Israel

Both sides previously agreed, in principle, to a plan announced by US President Joe Biden on 31 May, but Hamas has since proposed amendments and Israel has suggested clarifications – leading to each side accusing the other of trying to scupper the deal.

Following the latest negotiations last month, mediators said they had presented a proposal to both parties, which they hope will build on areas of agreement and bridge any remaining gaps.

‘I am sorry’

Mr Netanyahu also faces a great deal of internal pressure to agree a deal.

Mass protests in Israeli cities such as Tel Aviv and Jerusalem have taken place over the past four days, sparked by the recovery of the bodies of six hostages from a tunnel in southern Gaza on Saturday. Israel says the hostages were shot dead by Hamas.

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‘Hostages came back as corpses’

Addressing the loved ones of the six, Mr Netanyahu said he had visited one of the families and had spoken to others.

He explained: “I said to them that I am sorry.”

“I apologised that we didn’t get them out. We worked so hard to get them, we were close, but we didn’t,” he said.

Gil Dickmann, the cousin of Carmel Gat, one of the hostages found on the weekend, told The World with Yalda Hakim he thought the Israeli government were “all losers”.

“They lost Carmel’s life. They knew that her life was in danger. They knew, and we warned them… that they could be murdered at any moment and they decided… that they are going to say no to a deal that would save her life,” he said.

“They decided to sacrifice the lives of Israeli citizens – Israeli people who were taken from their beds on 7 October under the open eye of Ron Dermer [minister of strategic affairs] and Benjamin Netanyahu.

“They decided to sacrifice Carmel and all the other hostages and now they have been executed.”

Despite the backlash and mass gatherings of demonstrators, Mr Netanyahu said the people of Israel were “overwhelmingly united” and committed to achieving its goals in Gaza.

A drone photo of protesters rallying to show support for the hostages who were kidnapped during the deadly October 7 attack, amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, in Tel Aviv, Israel September 1, 2024. REUTERS/Oren Alon
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Protesters at a rally in Tel Aviv on Monday to show support for the hostages. Pic: Reuters

Demonstrators stand in front of a fire as protesters block a main road to show support for the hostages who were kidnapped during the deadly October 7 attack, amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, in Tel Aviv, Israel September 1, 2024. REUTERS/Florion Goga
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Pic: Reuters

According to the territory’s health ministry, more than 40,800 Palestinians have been killed in a retaliatory offensive by Israel for the 7 October attack.

More than 30 Palestinians have also been killed since Israel launched a major operation in different areas of the occupied West Bank, involving hundreds of soldiers and armoured vehicles.

It claimed the offensive was to thwart Iranian-backed militant groups preparing attacks on Israeli civilians.

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Russia wants ‘quick peace’ in Ukraine and London is ‘head of those resisting it’, ambassador to UK tells Sky News

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Russia wants 'quick peace' in Ukraine and London is 'head of those resisting it', ambassador to UK tells Sky News

Russia wants “quick peace” in Ukraine and London is at the “head of those resisting” it, the Russian ambassador to the UK has told Sky News.

In an interview on The World With Yalda Hakim, Andrei Kelin accused the UK, France and other European nations of not wanting to end the war in Ukraine.

“We are prepared to negotiate and to talk,” he said. “We have our position. If we can strike a negotiated settlement… we need a very serious approach to that and a very serious agreement about all of that – and about security in Europe.”

Russian ambassador to the UK Andrei Kelin speaks to  Yalda Hakin
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Russian ambassador Andrei Kelin speaks to Yalda Hakim

US President Donald Trump held a surprise phone call with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin last month, shocking America’s European allies. He went on to call Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a “dictator” and relations between the pair were left in tatters after a meeting in the Oval Office descended into a shouting match.

Days later, the US leader suspended military aid to Ukraine, though there were signs the relationship between the two leaders appeared to be on the mend following the contentious White House meeting last week, with Mr Trump saying he “appreciated” a letter from Mr Zelenskyy saying Kyiv was ready to sign a minerals agreement with Washington “at any time”.

In his interview with Sky News’ Yalda Hakim, Mr Kelin said he was “not surprised” the US has changed its position on Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which began in 2022, claiming Mr Trump “knows the history of the conflict”.

“He knows history and is very different from European leaders,” he added.

No doubt Russia is welcoming shift in world order


 Yalda Hakim joined Sky News at the end of last year

Yalda Hakim

Lead world news presenter

@SkyYaldaHakim

I’ve interviewed the Russian ambassador to the UK, Andrei Kelin, on a number of occasions, at times the conversation has been tense and heated.

But today, I found a diplomat full of confidence and cautiously optimistic.

The optics of course have suddenly changed in Russia’s favour since Donald Trump was elected.

I asked him if Russia couldn’t believe its luck. “I would not exaggerate this too much,” he quipped.

Mr Kelin also “categorically” ruled out European troops on the ground and said the flurry of diplomatic activity and summits over the course of the past few weeks is not because Europeans want to talk to Moscow but because they want to present something to Mr Trump.

He appeared to relish the split the world is witnessing in transatlantic relations.

Of course the ambassador remained cagey about the conversations that have taken place between President Trump and Vladimir Putin.

There is no doubt however that Russia is welcoming what Mr Kelin says is a shift in the world order.

Peace deal ‘should recognise Russian advances’

The Russian ambassador said Moscow had told Washington it believed its territorial advances in Ukraine “should be recognised” as part of any peace deal.

“What we will need is a new Ukraine as a neutral, non-nuclear state,” he said. “The territorial situation should be recognised. These territories have been included in our constitution and we will continue to push that all forces of the Ukrainian government will leave these territories.”

Asked if he thought the Americans would agree to give occupied Ukrainian land to Russia, he said: “I don’t think we have discussed it seriously. [From] what I have read, the Americans actually understand the reality.”

Read more:
What you need to know from a monumental week in Ukraine
US ‘destroying’ world order by trying to meet Russia ‘halfway’

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In full: Russian ambassador’s interview with Sky’s Yalda Hakim

Moscow rules out NATO peacekeepers in Ukraine

He said Russia “categorically ruled out” the prospect of NATO peacekeepers on the ground in Ukraine – a proposal made by UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron – saying “they have no rules of engagement” and so would just be “sitting in cities”.

“It’s senseless” and “not for reality,” Mr Kelin added.

He branded the temporary ceasefire raised by Mr Zelenskyy “a crazy idea”, and said: “We will never accept it and they perfectly are aware of that.

“We will only accept the final version, when we are going to sign it. Until then things are very shaky.”

He added: “We’re trying to find a resolution on the battlefield, until the US administration suggest something constructive.”

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US ‘destroying’ international rules-based order by trying to meet Russia ‘halfway’, Ukraine’s UK ambassador warns

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US 'destroying' international rules-based order by trying to meet Russia 'halfway', Ukraine's UK ambassador warns

The United States is “finally destroying” the international rules-based order by trying to meet Russia “halfway”, Ukraine’s ambassador to the UK has warned.

Valerii Zaluzhnyi said Washington’s recent actions in relation to Moscow could lead to the collapse of NATO – with Europe becoming Russian President Vladimir Putin‘s next target.

“The failure to qualify actions of Russia as an aggression is a huge challenge for the entire world and Europe, in particular,” he told a conference at the Chatham House think tank.

Ukraine latest: ‘Watershed moment’ as Kremlin blasts Macron

“We see that it is not just the axis of evil and Russia trying to revise the world order, but the US is finally destroying this order.”

Valerii Zaluzhnyi. Pic: Reuters
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Valerii Zaluzhnyi. Pic: Reuters


Mr Zaluzhnyi, who took over as Kyiv’s ambassador to London in 2024 following three years as commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian armed forces, also warned that the White House had “questioned the unity of the whole Western world” – suggesting NATO could cease to exist as a result.

It comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy scrambles to repair relations with US President Donald Trump following a dramatic row between the two men in the Oval Office last week.

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Mr Trump signalled on Tuesday that tensions could be easing, telling Congress he had received a letter from Mr Zelenskyy saying he was ready to sign a peace deal “at any time”.

Zelenskyy and Trump speaking in the Oval Office. Pic: Reuters
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Zelenskyy and Trump during their extraordinary Oval Office row. Pic: Reuters

Read more:
New Zealand fires UK envoy for Trump comments
US stops sharing all intelligence with Ukraine

But on the same day, the US president ordered a sudden freeze on shipments of US military aid to Ukraine, and Washington has since paused intelligence sharing with Kyiv and halted cyber operations against Russia.

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Mr Zaluzhnyi said the pause in cyber operations and an earlier decision by the US to oppose a UN resolution condemning Russian aggression in Ukraine were “a huge challenge for the entire world”.

He added that talks between the US and Russia – “headed by a war criminal” – showed the White House “makes steps towards the Kremlin, trying to meet them halfway”, warning Moscow’s next target “could be Europe”.

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Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh being forced to fight for same military accused of genocide against their people

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Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh being forced to fight for same military accused of genocide against their people

Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh is a sprawling mass of humanity. 

It’s a sea of makeshift bamboo shelters, home to more than one million Rohingya refugees – a mainly Muslim minority from Rakhine state in Myanmar.

Some 700,000 fled their homeland back in 2017 – after the Myanmar military massacred thousands.

The army was accused of genocide by the United Nations.

The Rohingya refugees didn’t escape danger though.

Right now, violence is at its worst levels in the camps since 2017 and Rohingya people face a particularly cruel new threat – they’re being forced back to fight for the same Myanmar military accused of trying to wipe out their people.

A child at the refugee camp in Cox's Bazar
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A child at the refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar

Militant groups are recruiting Rohingya men in the camps, some at gunpoint, and taking them back to Myanmar to fight for a force that’s losing ground.

More on Rohingyas

Jaker is just 19.

We’ve changed his name to protect his identity.

He says he was abducted at gunpoint last year by a group of nine men in Cox’s.

They tied his hands with rope he says and took him to the border where he was taken by boat with three other men to fight for the Myanmar military.

“It was heartbreaking,” he told me. “They targeted poor children. The children of wealthy families only avoided it by paying money.”

And he says the impact has been deadly.

“Many of our Rohingya boys, who were taken by force from the camps, were killed in battle.”

Jaker speaks to Sky's Cordelia Lynch
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Jaker speaks to Sky’s Cordelia Lynch

An aerial view of the refugee camp in Cox's Bazar
Image:
An aerial view of the refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar

The situation in Cox’s is desperate.

People are disillusioned by poverty, violence and the plight of their own people and the civil war they ran from is getting worse.

In Rakhine, just across the border, there’s been a big shift in dynamics.

The Arakan Army (AA), an ethnic armed group has all but taken control of the state from the ruling military junta.

Both the military and the AA are accused of committing atrocities against Rohingya Muslims.

And whilst some Rohingya claim they’re being forced into the fray – dragged back to Myanmar from Bangladesh, others are willing to go.

Read more from Sky News:
Bangladesh leader reacts to ‘House of Mirrors’ prison
Inside Bangladesh’s ‘death squad’ jails

Sri Lanka rescues more than 100 people believed to be Rohingya refugees

Teknaf in Cox's Bazar - where refugees arrive from Myanmar after crossing the Naf River
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Teknaf in Cox’s Bazar – where refugees arrive from Myanmar after crossing the Naf River

Some are so aggrieved with the AA, they’re willing to support their former persecutors.

Abu Zar is one of those willing to take up arms.

But not for the military or AA, he says.

Everyone praying in the mosque with him is prepared to go back to protect their own cause he says – not anyone else’s.

“We want to fight for our rights because we have been demanding justice for a long time. But the situation has become unbearable,” he tells me.

Abu Zar has said he is willing to take up arms for his own cause
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Abu Zar has said he is willing to take up arms for his own cause

It’s estimated between 3,000 and 5,000 Rohingya have joined armed groups from this camp.

But the fight they are joining has become increasingly bloody.

In a cramped shelter, we meet Safura.

Safura came under fire as she fled Myanmar
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Safura came under fire as she fled Myanmar

Safura's son Aman had his foot blown off
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Safura’s son Aman had his foot blown off

Five days ago she managed to get out of Myanmar but she had to be carried part of the way.

Her legs are riddled with bullet wounds and the pain is severe.

Her son, Aman, who lies on the floor next to her, has had his foot blown off.

They were injured she said, during an attack on her family home in the middle of the night.

“They entered our house and shot all my family members. My husband and mother-in-law were killed on the spot.”

The military denies forcing Rohingya to the battlefield. But the camps tell a different story- one of surging violence and vulnerability.

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