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February 28, 2025 | 06:36 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Israel stated on Thursday that its military will not withdraw from the strategic route along the Gaza-Egypt border. As reported by Anadolu, despite the Gaza ceasefire agreement demanding a troop withdrawal by Saturday, March 1, 2025.
According to the ceasefire agreement, Israel is required to commence the troop withdrawal from the Philadelphi Corridor by Saturday.
However, Israeli Defense Minister, Israel Katz, stated that the Philadelphi Corridor on the border between Gaza and Egypt will remain a "buffer zone," in a statement broadcasted by Israel's Channel 12.
Israel was scheduled to begin withdrawing from the 14-kilometer corridor on Saturday based on the Gaza ceasefire and a prisoner exchange agreement with Hamas.
An Israeli official confirmed that Tel Aviv would not withdraw from the corridor on Saturday, as quoted by the public broadcasting agency KAN. They will not allow Hamas to roam freely along the border or rearm through smuggling.
Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen told Kan Reshet Bet Radio that 59 hostages are still in Gaza and their release remains a top priority.
He stated that Israel will only proceed to the next ceasefire phase if four conditions are met: the release of all hostages, the removal of Hamas from power, the demilitarization of Gaza, and full Israeli security control over the enclave.
Cohen also emphasized that the support from the United States government and the resumption of heavy bomb deliveries, previously halted by the Biden administration, strengthen Israel's determination to uphold its demands.
The Israeli military seized the corridor during the genocide in Gaza, which resulted in the deaths of over 48,360 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and left the enclave in ruins.
There has been no direct comment from Hamas regarding Israel's statement. However, Hamas had previously expressed readiness to negotiate the next ceasefire phase.
In a statement, the group stated that the "only way" to ensure the release of the remaining hostages is through a commitment to a lasting ceasefire.
Israel's genocide was halted based on the ceasefire agreement in Gaza on January 19.
Early Thursday, Israel received the bodies of four hostages in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian detainees. The exchange marked the final swap in the first phase of Saturday's three-stage ceasefire agreement.
Three of the hostages died while in captivity, while the fourth hostage perished in a Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023, as claimed by the office of the Israeli Prime Minister (PM). Forensic experts in Tel Aviv have identified the four bodies after Hamas handed them over.
The office of the Israeli PM stated that the four bodies are Ohad Yahalomi, Tsahi Idan, and Itzik Elgarat who died in Gaza captivity. They are adding Shlomo Mantzur (86), who died in the October 7 attack, and his body was then taken to Gaza.
There has been no direct comment from Hamas, which previously asserted that large-scale Israeli bombings killed the hostages.
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