Israel will not withdraw its forces from the Gaza-Egypt border as would be required under the second phase of a truce with Hamas, an Israeli source says, even as it dispatches a team for ceasefire negotiations.
“We will not exit the Philadelphi Corridor,” the source told CNN, referring to the 14-kilometer (8-mile) strip along the border. “We will not allow Hamas murderers to roam again with trucks and rifles on our borders, and we will not let them strengthen themselves again through smuggling.”
The announcement comes days before the first phase of the Israel-Hamas hostage-ceasefire agreement is set to expire, and just hours after Hamas handed over the final hostages due for release under the first phase.
Hamas said in a statement that Israel’s failure to withdraw from the Gaza-Egypt border would be “a clear violation of the ceasefire agreement, and an attempt to fabricate excuses to obstruct the ceasefire agreement and cause it to fail.”
Talks on extending a 42-day ceasefire between Israel and Hamas into a second phase were meant to have started more than three weeks ago.
The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office said Thursday that Benjamin Netanyahu was sending a “negotiating delegation to Cairo today to continue the talks.” (CNN)