Netanyahu says Israeli forces won’t leave Philadelphi corridor until guarantee it’s not used as Hamas ‘supply line’

Published

10 months ago

September 4, 2024

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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.

“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

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.

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.

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.

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.

World

Trump’s USAID cuts could lead to 14 million deaths, report warns

Published

6 hours ago

July 1, 2025

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Trump's USAID cuts could lead to 14 million deaths, report warns

Around 14 million people could die across the world over the next five years because of cuts to the US Agency for International Development (USAID), researchers have warned.

Children under five are expected to make up around a third (4.5 million) of the mortalities, according to a study published in The Lancet medical journal.

Estimates showed that “unless the abrupt funding cuts announced and implemented in the first half of 2025 are reversed, a staggering number of avoidable deaths could occur by 2030”.

“Beyond causing millions of avoidable deaths – particularly among the most vulnerable – these cuts risk reversing decades of progress in health and socioeconomic development in LMICs [low and middle-income countries],” the report said.

USAID programmes have prevented the deaths of more than 91 million people, around a third of them among children, the study suggests.

The agency’s work has been linked to a 65% fall in deaths from HIV/AIDS, or 25.5 million people.

Eight million deaths from malaria, more than half the total, around 11 million from diarrheal diseases and nearly five million from tuberculosis (TB), have also been prevented.

USAID has been vital in improving global health, “especially in LMICs, particularly African nations,” according to the report.

Established in 1961, the agency was tasked with providing humanitarian assistance and helping economic growth in developing countries, especially those deemed strategic to Washington.

But the Trump administration has made little secret of its antipathy towards the agency, which became an early victim of cuts carried out by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) – formerly led by Elon Musk – in what the US government said was part of a broader plan to remove wasteful spending.

In March, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said more than 80% of USAID schemes had been closed following a six-week review, leaving around 1,000 active.

The US is the world’s largest humanitarian aid donor, providing around $61bn (£44bn) in foreign assistance last year, according to government data, or at least 38% of the total, and USAID is the world’s leading donor for humanitarian and development aid, the report said.

Between 2017 and 2020, the agency responded to more than 240 natural disasters and crises worldwide – and in 2016 it sent food assistance to more than 53 million people across 47 countries.

The study assessed all-age and all-cause mortality rates in 133 countries and territories, including all those classified as low and middle-income, supported by USAID from 2001 to 2021.

World

Thai PM Paetongtarn Shinawatra suspended amid outrage over leaked phone call

Published

9 hours ago

July 1, 2025

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Thai PM Paetongtarn Shinawatra suspended amid outrage over leaked phone call

Thailand’s prime minister has been suspended after a leaked phone call with a senior Cambodian politician caused outrage.

An ethics investigation into Paetongtarn Shinawatra is under way and she could end up being dismissed.

The country’s constitutional court took up a petition from 36 senators, who claimed dishonesty and a breach of ethical standards, and voted 7 to 2 to suspend her.

The prime minister’s call with Cambodia’s former leader, Hun Sen, sparked public protests after she tried to appease him and criticised a Thai army commander – a taboo move in a country where the military is extremely influential.

Ms Shinawatra was trying to defuse mounting tensions at the border – which in May resulted in the death of one Cambodian soldier.

Thousands of conservative, nationalist protesters held a demo in Bangkok on Saturday to urge her to step down.

Her party is clinging on to power after another group withdrew from their alliance a few weeks ago over the phone call. Calls for a no-confidence vote are likely.

Deputy prime minister Suriya Juangroongruangkit will take over temporarily while the court looks into the case.

The 38-year-old prime minister – Thailand‘s youngest ever leader – has 15 days to respond to the probe. She has apologised and said her approach in the call was a negotiating tactic.

The popularity of her government has slumped recently, with an opinion poll showing an approval rating of 9.2%, down from 30.9% in March.

Ms Shinawatra comes from a wealthy dynasty synonymous with Thai politics.

Her father Thaksin Shinawatra – a former Manchester City owner – and aunt Yingluck Shinawatra served as prime minister before her – in the early to mid 2000s – and their time in office also ended ignominiously amid corruption charges and military coups.

World

Benjamin Netanyahu to meet Donald Trump next week amid calls for Gaza ceasefire

Published

15 hours ago

July 1, 2025

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Benjamin Netanyahu to meet Donald Trump next week amid calls for Gaza ceasefire

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be meeting Donald Trump next Monday, according to US officials.

The visit on 7 July comes after Mr Trump suggested it was possible a ceasefire in Gaza could be reached within a week.

On Sunday, he wrote on social media: “MAKE THE DEAL IN GAZA. GET THE HOSTAGES BACK!!!”

At least 60 people killed across Gaza on Monday, in what turned out to be some of the heaviest attacks in weeks.

According to the Hamas-run health ministry, 56,500 people have been killed in the 20-month war.

The visit by Mr Netanyahu to Washington has not been formally announced and the officials who said it would be going ahead spoke on condition of anonymity.

An Israeli official in Washington also confirmed the meeting next Monday.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the administration was in constant communication with the Israeli government.

She said Mr Trump viewed ending the war in Gaza and returning remaining hostages held by Hamas as a top priority.

The war in Gaza broke out in retaliation for Hamas’ 7 October 2023 attacks on southern Israel that killed 1,200 people and saw a further 250 taken hostage.

An eight-week ceasefire was reached in the final days of Joe Biden’s US presidency, but Israel resumed the war in March after trying to get Hamas to accept new terms on next steps.

Talks between Israel and Hamas have stalled over whether the war should end as part of any ceasefire.