It’s a small sliver of land, but it’s become a major sticking point in talks between Israel and Hamas.
The so-called Philadelphi corridor has emerged as a critical factor holding up a cease-fire deal that would end the monthslong war in the Gaza Strip and secure the release of hostages still held in the enclave.
Outcry over the killing of six hostages has intensified pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with President Joe Biden saying Monday that he was not doing enough to secure a deal. But Netanyahu signaled he had no plans to soften his stance on keeping troops in the area despite mass protests and internal disagreements.
So what is the Philadelphi corridor — and why is it so important?
What is the Philadelphi corridor?
The Philadelphi corridor, also known as the Salah al-Din axis, refers to a narrow strip of land just under 9 miles in length and around 100 yards wide that runs along the Gaza side of the coastal enclave's border with Egypt.
It includes the key Rafah border crossing, long considered a lifeline for Palestinians in Gaza — allowing crucial supplies of food, medicine and other aid to get into the strip and enabling the movement of Palestinians in and out of the enclave under a 17-year blockade imposed by Israel.
The corridor was set up as a buffer zone in accordance with the 1978 Camp David Accords between Egypt and Israel, with the aim of controlling movement in and out of Gaza and preventing arms smuggling between the Egyptian Sinai and the Palestinian enclave.
The area was under Israeli control until Israel’s unilateral withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in 2005, prior to which Israel and Egypt signed the Philadelphi Accord, which allowed Egypt to send hundreds of border guards to patrol the corridor's borders.
In May, the Israeli military announced it had established “tactical control” over the corridor after launching a widely condemned offensive on the crowded city of Rafah in southern Gaza.
Israeli officials said troops had discovered some 150 tunnels along the corridor believed to have been used by Hamas to smuggle weapons and supplies into the enclave, though they said it wasn't clear if the tunnels had been used since Oct. 7.
What's the disagreement?
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted that Israel must maintain a military presence in the southern Gaza border area as part of any truce deal, in order to prevent Hamas from using the corridor.
But Hamas has rejected any continued Israeli presence in the corridor, with key negotiator Khalil Al-Hayya saying in an interview with Al Jazeera on Sunday that unless Israeli forces withdraw from the area, "there is no agreement."
It's only recently that the Philadelphi corridor has emerged as a central issue in cease-fire negotiations, which have stalled despite a renewed push from the United States.
Washington has publicly blamed Hamas, but U.S. and foreign officials told NBC News that new conditions introduced by Netanyahu have also held up progress, including the insistence on control of Gaza’s southern border with Egypt.
Two people briefed on the negotiations told NBC News that Biden may offer a final “take it or leave it” deal to Israel and Hamas as soon as this week.
Still, despite mounting diplomatic pressure and domestic unrest, Netanyahu has remained defiant.
Calling the Philadelphi corridor a Hamas' "lifeline," the Israeli leader said during a news conference in Jerusalem on Monday that the strip was "central and determines our entire future."
"The axis of evil needs the Philadelphi corridor — we need to hold it," he said, at one point pointing to a map that appeared to erase the existence of the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Netanyahu argued that if Israel were to pull troops out of the corridor, international pressure would make it difficult to return.
Egypt, a key mediator in talks, issued a blanket rejection of Netanyahu's comments Monday, dismissing his speech as an attempt at distracting "the attention of Israeli public opinion" and obstructing a deal.
‘Political spin?’
Netanyahu's insistence on maintaining control over the Philadelphi corridor at the expense of a cease-fire deal to free the hostages has also put him at odds with senior members of his own government.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant called Sunday for Israel’s security Cabinet to convene and reverse the decision to stick to the demand.
“It’s too late for the abductees who were murdered in cold blood,” Gallant said in a post on X. “The abductees who remain in the captivity of Hamas must be returned home.”
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid also rejected Netanyahu's stance, labeling it "baseless political spin" that was "disconnected from reality."
"Israel evacuated the Philadelphi Route 19 years ago," he said Monday. "Netanyahu voted in favor of it both in the government and in the Knesset. For 15 of those years, Netanyahu was the Prime Minister and never thought of reoccupying the Philadelphi Route."
Kobi Michael, a senior researcher at the Tel Aviv-based Institute for National Security Studies, disagreed. He told NBC News that control of the corridor was essential to ensuring Israel’s future security.
“We cannot allow ourselves to return to the reality that we met on Oct. 7,” he said.
Still, Michael, who is also a member of the Misgav Institute for National Security & Zionist Strategy, said he believed any continued military presence in the Philadelphi corridor had to come with a clear timeline for troops to eventually withdraw.
He said he believed this could be accomplished within the span of a year.
“We are very experienced in building the barriers," Michael said. "It’s not so complicated.”
Lapid said he believed Netanyahu was appealing to the interests of right-wing members of the fragile coalition that has kept him in power.
Gershon Baskin, an Israeli hostage negotiator, offered a similar assessment. Netanyahu was “sacrificing the hostages on an altar of his own personal political survival,” Baskin said.
