Netanyahu pledges to withdraw Israeli army a kilometer from Philadelphi Corridor: report

ANKARA (AA) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pledged to President Joe Biden to withdraw the army one kilometer from the 14-kilometer-long Philadelphi Corridor, which runs along the Gaza-Egypt border while leaving a minimal number of military sites in the area, according to Israeli media.

The pledge comes as part of ongoing discussions between Israel and the US regarding Israel’s relentless military offensive in the battered occupied Gaza Strip.

A broadcaster reported that Egypt has agreed to provide Hamas with updated maps of Israeli army positions in the Philadelphi Corridor, although Cairo has made no official statement on the matter.

According to the channel, during a phone call with Biden, Netanyahu agreed to only two specific and minute conditions in response to US pressure.

Netanyahu has consented to evacuate merely one kilometer of the Philadelphi Corridor and minimize the number of military sites in the area.

The report, however, was vague and did not specify when the withdrawal would take place or how many military sites would remain.

According to the report, Netanyahu promised not to jeopardize the agreement with Hamas if the resistance movement agreed to Israeli forces staying in the Philadelphi Corridor.

He also accepted a US proposal to prevent the movement of armed groups and weapons through the Netzarim Corridor, which separates northern and southern Gaza, and to forego demands for checkpoints or military sites under Israeli control in this area, the media outlet claimed.

The channel did not go into detail about the US’s proposed solution for the Netzarim Corridor.

Hamas has not yet commented on Netanyahu’s new proposal regarding the Philadelphi Corridor.

The Philadelphi Corridor, a 14-kilometer (8.69-mile) demilitarized buffer zone along the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, remains one of the major sticking points in Israel-Hamas negotiations.

Neither the Israeli government nor the US administration has issued an official statement on the reported pledge.

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.

Israel has continued its brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip since last October 7 despite a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire.

It has killed more than 40,200 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured over 93,000, according to local health authorities.

An ongoing blockade of Gaza has led to severe shortages of food, clean water and medicine.