Not willing to relinquish control of the Philadelphia Corridor between Gaza and Egypt, Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu at least until he receives the necessary guarantees.

In particular, as he pointed out in an interview in Jerusalem, Israel will not withdraw its troops from the border area between southern Gaza and Egypt until there is a guarantee that it can never be used as a lifeline for the Islamist movement Hamas.

“Until that happens, we will be there,” he said.

What is the Philadelphia Corridor?

The Philadelphia Corridor is a strip of land about 14 kilometers long and 100 meters wide along the Gaza border with Egypt, which includes the Rafah crossing. It was designated as a demilitarized border zone after the withdrawal of Israeli settlements and troops from Gaza in 2005 and stretches from the Mediterranean Sea to the Kerem Shalom Pass through Israel.

Before 2005, the 1979 Camp David peace treaty with Egypt allowed Israel to have a limited number of troops in the corridor but no heavy armor. After Israel’s withdrawal, it was the responsibility of Egypt and the Palestinian Authority, with 750 Egyptian police deployed to prevent smuggling, until Hamas took control of Gaza in 2007. It was captured by Israel in May 2024 after the land his attack on Rafa.

Despite efforts to the contrary, cross-border smuggling through underground routes has continued and has been exploited by Hamas to procure weapons, although there is evidence that in recent years arms are being smuggled through the Mediterranean.

Egypt continues to reject the possibility of a strong Israeli military presence directly on the border and has declared that such a development would threaten the peace treaty.