Israeli negotiators return from Egypt without deal on Philadelphi Corridor

JERUSALEM

An Israeli negotiating team returned from Cairo on Monday without reaching an agreement on the Philadelphi Corridor on the border between Gaza and Egypt, according to Israeli media.

The corridor is a 14-kilometer (8.69-mile) demilitarized buffer zone along the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt.

“No progress has been made in the talks on the Philadelphi Corridor,” Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper said.

It remains unclear when the next round of talks regarding the axis will be held.

"We are talking about very critical hours,” the newspaper said, citing an Israeli source familiar with the talks.

"The issue of the Philadelphi Corridor is still open as there are no understandings about it,” the source said. “Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is unwilling to compromise on his position.”

“While Israel is willing to keep forces there, the Egyptians and Palestinians insist on a full (Israeli) withdrawal,” he added.

Early Monday, Netanyahu told US Secretary of State Antony Blinken that he plans to send his negotiating team to Egypt this week for a new round of Gaza cease-fire and prisoner swap talks.

On Sunday, Netanyahu said that the Israeli army will remain in the Philadelphi Corridor with opposition leader Yair Lapid accusing him of sabotaging the prisoner swap talks with Hamas.

Gaza cease-fire talks in Qatar concluded on Friday by presenting "a proposal that narrows the gaps" between Israel and Hamas that is consistent with the principles set out by US President Joe Biden on May 31.

Biden said in May that Israel presented a three-phase deal that would end hostilities in Gaza and secure the release of hostages held in the coastal enclave. The plan includes a cease-fire, a hostage-prisoner exchange, and the reconstruction of Gaza.

But Hamas said on Sunday that Netanyahu set new conditions in the Gaza cease-fire and hostage swap proposal that was floated during the Doha talks.

“The new proposal meets Netanyahu's conditions and aligns with them, particularly his refusal of a permanent cease-fire, a complete withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, and his insistence on continuing the occupation of the Netzarim Junction (which separates the north and south of the Gaza Strip), the Rafah crossing, and the Philadelphi Corridor (in the south),” Hamas said in a statement.

For months, the US, Qatar, and Egypt have been trying to reach an agreement between Israel and Hamas to ensure a prisoner exchange and cease-fire and allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza.
But mediation efforts have been stalled due to Netanyahu’s refusal to meet Hamas’ demands to stop the war.

Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, Israel has continued its brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas.

The Israeli onslaught has since killed over 40,130 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured more than 92,740, according to local health authorities.

More than 10 months into the Israeli onslaught, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which ordered it to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala