The Prime Minister’s Office rejected media reports that Israel had agreed to reduce its forces in the Philadelphi Corridor in order to finalize a Gaza hostage and ceasefire agreement.
“Prime Minister Netanyahu stands by the principle that Israel will physically remain in the Philadelphia Corridor, from the Kerem Shalom [Crossing] to the sea,” it said on Monday.
It spoke up in the aftermath of a high-level US-led summit in Cairo on Sunday that appeared to end without any conclusions with the return of a senior negotiating team.
Negotiations, however, continue in Cairo on Monday, with a lower-level Israeli team on the ground.
According to the Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar mediators have sought “minor adjustments” to the July 2 version of the agreement that Hamas agreed to, which would include a gradual reduction of IDF forces in the critical buffer zone between Egypt and Gaza, known as the Philadelphi Corridor.
There would be no construction in that corridor during the first phase of the agreement, according to Al-Akhbar, and there would be no changes to the status quo in that corridor.
The security road by the border barrier, however, would be paved to allow the IDF forces on the ground to move more easily in that area.
Phase one of the deal is expected to last for 42 days.
In exchange for a Hamas agreement to this amendment, Al-Akhbar said, Israel would be flexible on issues relating to the return of Palestinians to northern Gaza. Israel has insisted that no Palestinian terrorists should be allowed to return to that region of Gaza.
Israel’s Ambassador to the US Mike Herzog told CBS’s Face the Nation on Sunday Israel is “not obliged to leave the Philadelphi Corridor at this phase.”
But, he said, “we are reducing our forces there.”
In talking of the three-phase deal, he said that much of the conversation has been about the implementation of phase one of the deal.
“We had constructive talks in Egypt a few days ago. We are well-coordinated with the U.S. administration,” he said.
Details of hostage release
In addition to issues relating to the Philadelphi Corridor, Herzog said that there was a focus on ensuring that as many live hostages as possible would be released in phase one of the deal. It’s expected that anywhere from 18 to 33 would be freed at that stage.
“In phase one, we hope to get as many live hostages out as possible…. Every day that passes endangers their lives,” Herzog said.
A senior US official, however, described the talks as “constructive,” saying they were conducted in a spirit on all sides to reach “a final and implementable agreement.”
“The process will continue over the coming days through working groups to further address remaining issues and details,” said the official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, adding that the teams would remain in Cairo.
Speaking at a news conference in Halifax, Canada, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said Washington was still “feverishly” working in Cairo to get a ceasefire and a hostage deal.
Mediators put forward a number of alternatives to the presence of Israeli forces on the Philadelphi Corridor and the Netzarim Corridor which cuts across the middle of the Gaza Strip, but none were accepted by the parties, Egyptian sources said.
Israel also expressed reservations about several of the Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails that Hamas is demanding the release of, and Israel demanded their exit from Gaza if they are released, the sources added.
There has been much back and forth between the teams from Israel, the United States, and Egypt since Thursday to narrow the remaining gaps, the senior US. the official said, in preparation for Saturday when Qatar and Egypt met with senior representatives of Hamas to walk through the proposal in detail.
Egypt and Qatar have been the main mediators for the deal with the support of the United States.
Hamas said Israel has backtracked on a commitment to withdraw troops from the Corridor and put forward other new conditions, including the screening of displaced Palestinians as they return to the enclave’s more heavily populated north when the ceasefire begins.
“We will not accept discussions about retractions from what we agreed to on July 2 or new conditions,” Hamas official Osama Hamdan told the group’s Al-Aqsa TV on Sunday.
Reuters contributed to this report
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