Israeli official says IDF won’t withdraw from Philadelphi Corridor as ceasefire stipulates

An Israeli official has sent a statement to Israeli reporters on condition of anonymity stating that Jerusalem will not withdraw from the Philadelphi Corridor, despite the hostage-ceasefire deal’s requirement for the IDF to depart the Egypt-Gaza border stretch at the end of the first phase.

“We will not leave the Philadelphi Corridor. We will not allow the Hamas murderers to again roam our borders with pickup trucks and guns, and we will not allow them to rearm through smuggling,” the Israeli official says, maintaining that Hamas had been using the route to sneak weapons into Gaza.

In July, when Israel’s hostage negotiating team believed that it was on the verge of a hostage deal with Hamas, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu added new conditions aimed at maintaining Israel’s presence in the Philadelphi Corridor, thereby scuttling the talks, Israeli and Arab officials have told The Times of Israel.

Ultimately, though, the deal Netanyahu accepted six months later still requires Israel to begin completing its withdrawal from the Philadelphi Corridor on the 42nd day of phase one — this coming Saturday — and to finish that pull-out by the 50th day of the ceasefire (March 9).

The Israeli official’s announcement comes shortly after Israeli authorities finished identifying the last four bodies of hostages released in phase one.