Israel-Hamas ceasefire stalled as renegotiation of security corridor in Philadelphia, terrorist swap
Disputes over Philadelphia’s now-infamous security corridor are once again hampering efforts to secure it truce between Israel and HamasIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s spokesman told Fox News Digital on Thursday.
Hopes for a ceasefire and a hostage exchange deal were first confirmed by the US and Qatar on Wednesday it seemed suffocated by the time Americans woke up on Thursday morning.
“The terrorist organization Hamas is repeatedly making new demands at the last minute, even though everything has already been agreed with mediators, including the US,” said Prime Minister’s spokesman Omer Dostri, echoing Netanyahu’s comments accusing Hamas of “creating a crisis at the last minute” and “backtracking.” conditions agreed by the mediators.
Netanyahu said on Thursday that Israel “will pay a very high price for any act of aggression against us from any side.” (Ma’ayan Toaf (GPO))
When Fox News Digital again asked for details on the problems obviously put a damper on the business to be held on Sunday, Dostri pointed to renewed disagreements over the security corridor that runs between the Gaza Strip and Egypt.
“[Hamas is calling for] changing the deployment of Israeli military forces in the Philadelphia corridor,” Dostri said, without specifying what kind of scheduling disagreements occurred.
The land crossing has repeatedly proved a point of contention in the negotiations and may have contributed to the collapse of the July agreement in which US-Israeli Hersh Golberg-Polin was supposed to be freed, but which never materialized. Golberg-Polin and five other hostages were killed a month later in a tunnel in Gaza.
Jerusalem has argued that the corridor is vital to its national security interests because Hamas could use it to regroup by relying on smuggling efforts and links with jihadist groups in Egypt’s North Sinai region.
Israeli combat engineers search for Hamas tunnels in the Philadelphia Corridor along the Gaza-Egypt border. (TPS-IL)
In response to Fox News Digital, White House National Security Adviser John Kirby said: “We are aware of these issues and are working to resolve them with the Israeli government, as well as with other partners in the region. We are confident that they are being implemented. The details can be agreed upon and that the deal will be launched this weekend.”
Secretary of State Antony Blinken echoed that sentiment, telling reporters at a press briefing that the deal would be “implemented on Sunday.”
IDF soldiers battle terrorists in Gaza’s vital Netzarim corridor. (IDF Spokesperson Unit)
Part of the deal believed to have been agreed this week was for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to remain in the Gaza Strip until the last hostage was freed. But Israel also agreed to begin withdrawing its forces to a security zone surrounding communities on the Gaza border, the Times of Israel reported.
ISRAEL-HAMAS Cease-fire deal hangs in balance as key vote postponed
It is unclear what details regarding the Philadelphia Corridor were agreed upon as part of the deal, although a senior diplomatic official told The Times of Israel that Israeli soldiers intended to stay in the security corridor throughout the first phase of the ceasefire.
But Ruby Chen, father of Itay Chen – an IDF soldier believed to have been killed during an attack on October 7, 2023 and whose body was taken to Gaza by Hamas – believes far-right security demands in Israel could once again threaten the hostage deal.
Chen pointed to right-wing cabinet members such as National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich who have repeatedly rejected any deal that does not include continued IDF presence in the Gaza Strip.
File showing Hamas terrorists during a military parade in the Bani Suheila neighborhood on July 20, 2017 in Gaza City, Gaza. (Chris McGrath/Getty Images)
“Bibi coalition members are giving him a lot of trouble. And you know, he might want to get out of it,” Chen said. – It is easy to blame the other side.
Another issue that has reportedly come up, according to Netanyahu’s spokesman, is Hamas’ demands for the release of certain terrorist members currently held by Israel, although Fox News Digital could not confirm exactly what new demands have been made.
In exchange for the hostages still being held in Gaza, Israel agreed to release dozens of Palestinian prisoners in an initial phase of the deal that was supposed to last 42 days. During this period, 33 hostages who fall under “humanitarian categories” including any possibly children, women, the elderly and the sick they will be the first to be freed.
The second phase, to be negotiated on the 16th day of the ceasefire, will then involve the release of soldiers held by Hamas, both living and dead. Some reports suggest that Israel may release more than 1,000 prisoners by the time the exchange is completed.
Family members of Americans taken hostage by Hamas during the Oct. 7 terror attacks in Israel, including (RL) Ronen Neutra, Ruby Chen, Jonathan Dekel-Chen, Liz Naftali, Adi Alexander, Orna Neutra and Yael Alexander speak to reporters outside the West Wing The White House on December 13, 2023 in Washington, DC. The families were invited to a private meeting with US President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
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Chen insisted on the release of all hostages, including the deceased, and argued that the plan to release the soldiers and the deceased in a separate phase was no longer good enough.
“[That] maybe it was needed seven months ago, when the framework was set,” Chen said. “Since then, everyone has been humanitarian – including the deceased.
“The one thing you can predict about the Middle East is that it’s unpredictable,” Chen added. “The Middle East is always a match away from exploding.”
