Philadelphi Corridor: Hamas lifeline or Netanyahu’s cease-fire poison pill?
Control of a nearly nine-mile border route in the southern Gaza Strip has emerged as a stumbling block in the talks over a potential cease-fire and hostage agreement.
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WASHINGTON — At the center of stalled negotiations over a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip is whether a narrow strip of land poses a real strategic threat to Israel, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claims, or serves as an excuse to prolong the war for his political benefit.
Netanyahu’s refusal to cede control of the so-called Philadelphi Corridor bordering Egypt is among the final hurdles to reaching a deal with Hamas to end the war and free the hostages taken on Oct. 7, US and Middle Eastern officials say.
The 14-kilometer (8.7-mile), largely uninhabited strip of land includes the Rafah border crossing, of which the Israeli military took control in May. Israel has long accused Hamas of using the tunnels underneath the Philadelphi Corridor to smuggle weapons and ammunition into Gaza from neighboring Egypt.
