Israel to remain on Eygyt-Gaza border, violating ceasefire deal
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Khan Younis: Israel is set to violate the first phase of the ceasefire agreement after Hamas expressed its willingness to accept the next phase of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza. An Israeli official said that it will not withdraw from the Philadelphi Corridor on the Gaza-Egypt border. The official, who did not want to be named, claimed that the army needed to remain there to prevent arms smuggling.
With this, the ceasefire agreement has fallen into uncertainty. Israel's stance has become tougher after the transfer of hostages, as well as Israel-jailed Palestinians as part of the first phase of the ceasefire agreement that has been completed. Israeli forces were due to begin withdrawing from the Philadelphi Corridor on Saturday.
Hamas, which has not commented on this yet, had earlier accused Israel of trying to turn the corridor into a buffer zone, violating the ceasefire agreement.
Meanwhile, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz claimed, during a meeting with local leaders, that tunnels were found during a visit to the border corridor. However, he did not produce any evidence for the claim. Egypt said that the tunnels on the border had been destroyed years ago to prevent smuggling.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had accused Hamas of smuggling weapons through the tunnel on the border. However, the leading Israeli media outlet Haaretz reported at the time that these tunnels had not been used for years. Israeli forces had claimed that they found nine tunnels in the Philadelphi Corridor.
The Philadelphi Corridor, which shares the border with Egypt in Gaza, is 14 km long.
