Giving Philadelphi pitch in English, Netanyahu says it’s critical for securing hostages’ release
Lazar Berman is The Times of Israel's diplomatic reporter
As he did with Israeli reporters earlier in the week, Netanyahu uses a map.
He shows Israel’s size in the Middle East, again not distinguishing between the West Bank and the rest of Israeli-controlled territory. Gaza is not included in the Israeli territory.
He shows the short distances from Gaza to Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Beersheva, and from border communities.
He stresses “the centrality of the Philadelphi Corridor” to the arming of Hamas, which, he argues, led to the October 7 massacre.
On Monday, Netanyahu presented four war goals; tonight, he presents three, leaving out returning residents to the northern border.
Netanyahu argues that holding the Gaza-Egypt border is necessary not only to keep Hamas from terrorizing Israel, but also to keep them “from terrorizing the people of Gaza.”
“Gaza cannot have a future if Gaza remains porous and you can enable the rearmament of Gaza through the Philadelphi Corridor.”
Netanyahu argues that Hamas could smuggle hostages out of Gaza to Iran or Yemen if Israel doesn’t hold the Philadelphi Corridor.
He also says that – because of the pressure it puts on Hamas – “if you want to release the hostages, you’ve got to hold on to the Philadelphi Corridor.
If Israel leaves the corridor, it won’t be able to come back, he says. “We’re not going to leave for 42 days [of the first phase of any hostage deal]. We’re there.”
Regarding critics of his position, he states, “They say, If you stay, this will kill the deal. And I say, such a deal will kill us.”
Leaving the Philadelphi Corridor, he insists, will not save the hostages.
Netanyahu says that Gaza can only remain demilitarized if the Philadelphi Corridor “remains under firm control and is not a supply line for armaments and terror equipment.” Notably, he does not say it has to be under Israel’s firm control.
He then goes back to show images of tunnels built by Hamas under the Philadelphi Corridor, pointing out the size of the tunnels. “This is a huge, huge problem.”
