The border zone between the Gaza Strip and Egypt should be under Israels control to ensure the demilitarization of the area Israeli Prime Minister B
The border zone between the Gaza Strip and Egypt should be under Israel’s control to ensure the demilitarization of the area, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at a news conference Saturday.
He spoke as Israel’s war against Hamas entered its 13th week. Netanyahu said it would last many more months.
If Israel takes control of the border zone, it would be a de facto reversal of its 2005 withdrawal from Gaza and place the enclave under Israeli control again after years of control by Hamas.
‘The Philadelphi Corridor — or to put it more correctly, the southern stoppage point (of Gaza) — must be in our hands. It must be shut. It is clear that any other arrangement would not ensure the demilitarization that we seek,’ Netanyahu said.
He said that about 8,000 militants have been killed in Israel’s military campaign in the Palestinian territory. Since the war began in October, 21,672 Palestinian have been killed and more than 56,000 wounded, Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry said Saturday. It does not distinguish between civilian and combatant casualties.
A Palestinian wounded in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip is treated in a hospital in Rafah, Dec. 30, 2023.
Israel began its military campaign to wipe out Hamas after Hamas fighters crossed into southern Israel on October 7. Israel said about 1,200 people were killed and some 240 captives taken in the terror attack, about 129 remain in Gaza. The Israeli military says 170 of its military personnel have been killed so far in the fighting.
‘Step by step, we are depriving Hamas of their capabilities,’ Netanyahu said Saturday. ‘We will also eliminate the leaders.’
He vowed to bring all of the hostages back.
Hundreds of demonstrators rallied in Tel Aviv on Saturday, demanding the government secure their release.
