Israel’s Hold on Philadelphi Corridor Rattles Ceasefire

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stands before a map of the Gaza Strip at a Jerusalem press conference on Sept. 2, 2024. (Photo: AP Pool/Ohad Zwigenberg)

On the border between Gaza and Egypt lies the 100 meter-wide Philadelphi Corridor. It stretches 14 kilometers, from the Mediterranean Sea to Kerem Shalom, where the borders of Egypt, Gaza, and Israel converge. Control over this string of scrubland threatens to upend the shaky ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. 

Since May 7, 2024, when Israeli forces invaded Rafah, this corridor that serves as the only exit from Gaza into non-Israeli territory has been under IDF control. In Jan. 2025, however, Israel committed to withdrawing from the Egypt-Gaza border as a part of its ceasefire with Hamas. On March 1, 2025, the final day of the ceasefire’s first phase, Israel was to begin removing its troops from the border. 

The withdrawal never took place.

Jeopardizing the ceasefire’s second phase, Israel announced that the IDF would maintain control of the border — affirming a precarious buffer zone similar to those it’s carved into southern Syria and southern Lebanon. 

“We will not leave the Philadelphi Corridor,” an Israeli official said in a statement to NBC News. “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.”

At a press conference in Sep. 2024, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended the IDF’s control of the corridor, framing the decision as a reinforcement of Israeli security interests. In an address, Netanyahu decried the border as a site of underground arms-smuggling into Gaza. 

Israeli soldiers standing guard near the Philadelphi Corridor on Sept. 13, 2024. (Photo: AP Pool/Leo Correa)

The Rafah Crossing Point, situated in the corridor, is also the main artery for medical evacuations out of Gaza and aid deliveries into the enclave. Control of the corridor is crucial for Hamas, which has rejected ceasefire proposals that do not mandate an Israeli troop withdrawal from the border region. In response to the IDF’s continued control of the border, Hamas accused Israel of “evading the commitment to end the war and withdraw completely from Gaza.”

Israel’s Defense Minister, Israel Katz, reaffirmed his country’s position in the corridor, and said that the IDF was “prepared to go back to war,” should the ceasefire fall through. Katz’ predecessor, Yoav Gallant, publicly opposed Israel’s presence at the border. 

Negotiations over the second phase of the ceasefire have been stalled for weeks. On March 1, 2025, Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem told Al-Araby TV that “there are no negotiations” regarding the next stage of the truce, stating that an Israeli proposal to extend the first phase is “unacceptable.”

Later that evening, Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced that Israel would adopt a plan drafted by U.S. special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff to extend the ceasefire through Ramadan and Passover, which end on March 30 and April 20, respectively. 

Under the proposal, half of the remaining hostages — including the bodies of those who have died — would be released on the first day, with the rest freed upon successful negotiation of a permanent ceasefire. According to Netanyahu, Hamas is holding 59 hostages, only 24 of whom are alive. If no permanent agreement is reached, Israel may resume fighting.

In an attempt to pressure Hamas to accept the extended ceasefire, Israel has stopped the entry of all humanitarian aid into Gaza — a decision that the United Nations’ Relief Chief, Thomas Fletcher, called “alarming.” International agencies have already warned of the famine-like conditions in Gaza, where more than two million Palestinians depend on foreign aid. 

With talks stalled and stakes rising, the fate of the ceasefire — and of Gaza itself — remains uncertain.