Posted on 09/03/24
| News Source: Arutz-7
A senior Israeli official told mediators in recent days that Israel has agreed to withdraw from the Philadelphi Corridor in the second phase of a potential hostage deal with Hamas, Kan 11 reported. This is despite Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's insistence that remaining in the corridor is "ensuring that we will not have more and more October 7's, like Hamas has promised."
A source familiar with the talks said that the Israeli position includes insisting on an Israeli presence in the Philadelphia Corridor in the first phase of the deal, including the reduction forces, but withdrawing completely from the Corridor in the second phase.
Meanwhile, US National Security Council Spokesman John Kirby stated that the US is "working on a proposal that will ensure the release of the hostages and include massive aid to the residents of Gaza. We are still actively working, I cannot say the timetables and what the proposal will look like. We strive for our three goals. President Biden is personally involved in working with our team to secure the deal, and that's what we're focused on."
"The murder of the six hostages highlights the urgency we have before us to close the deal," Kirby said.
Kirby said that Biden's proposal from May included a clause that included "Israel's withdrawal from all densely populated areas, including those areas along the corridor. This is the proposal that Israel agreed to."
Kirby was later asked about Britain's decision to suspend some arms sales licenses to Israel and said that "the United States will continue to support Israel's defensive capabilities and examine individual reports of violations of international law - there was no determination by the United States that Israel violated international law."