Israel offers new proposal for the Philadelphi corridor to Hamas

CNN
 — 

Egypt is set to deliver Israel’s latest Philadelphi corridor proposal to Hamas after Israel submitted a revised plan on Thursday as efforts to secure a ceasefire deal to halt the fighting in Gaza continue, a diplomat and an Israeli source familiar with the talks said.

The new Israeli proposal, which includes a map of where Israeli troops would be deployed, reduces the number of troops and military posts along the strategic corridor bordering Egypt from Israel’s previous position, the Israeli source said. Egyptian negotiators had rejected the previous Israeli map days earlier and declined to transfer it to Hamas, calling it a non-starter.

The Philadelphi corridor is a 14-kilometer (8.7-mile) strip of land in southern Gaza along the border with Egypt- that the IDF currently controls.

The deployment of Israeli troops along the Philadelphi corridor during the first phase of a ceasefire agreement has been a major point of contention between Israel and Hamas. Israel has demanded maintaining control of the border zone, whereas Hamas has said Israeli troops must withdraw from the area.

Hamas’ response to the new proposal will be critical to determining whether it sends negotiators to an expected negotiating summit in Cairo on Sunday. If they attend, the two sides could hold true negotiations – with each side’s delegation occupying a room, and Egyptian and Qatari mediators going back-and-forth between the two.

The new proposal was the product of an hours-long meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his negotiating team on Thursday, in which Netanyahu agreed to reduce troop levels. That meeting came a day after Netanyahu spoke with US President Joe Biden, who pushed Netanyahu to show more flexibility on the Philadelphi corridor.