Standstill in hostage talks, Israel should accept withdrawal from Philadelphi - editorial

The talks to release the remaining 101 hostages held by Hamas in Gaza seem to be at a stalemate.

Although we are not privy to the details, Israel’s demand that it retain its presence in the Philadelphi corridor appears to be the main stumbling block.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a convincing argument for that need during his televised press conference Monday evening.

Utilizing a large map of Gaza and a pointer, Netanyahu explained the dangers of withdrawing from the strip of land bordering Egypt, citing it as a critical buffer zone between Egypt and Gaza under which Hamas smuggled weapons that allowed it to carry out the October 7 attack and launch rockets against Israel for years.

Unless Israel continues controlling the corridor, Hamas would not have any restraints from smuggling weapons in from Egypt and rearming, the prime minister asserted.

Insisting that Israel “will not give up on existential issues, “ he said that if Israel left Philadelphi, it would never be allowed to return. The prime minister explained that, in the end, this wasn’t purely a military issue but also a diplomatic one that had to take into account broader strategy.

“This isn’t a security issue; this is about a national geopolitical strategy,” he said.

Backing that concept, the cabinet on Thursday night approved the need to retain control of the corridor by a vote of 8-1, saying that standing firm on Philadelphi brings the possibility of a deal closer. According to sources, cabinet ministers said it was important to make it clear to Hamas that it would have to compromise on the Philadelphi Corridor, just as it compromised on its demand to end the war.

The only vote against the decision came from Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, a former IDF southern commander, who reportedly called the decision “an unnecessary constraint that we’ve placed on ourselves.

“The decision made Thursday was reached under the assumption that there is time, but if we want the hostages alive, there’s no time,” Gallant reportedly told the ministers. “The fact that we prioritize the Philadelphi Corridor at the cost of the lives of the hostages is a moral disgrace.”

On Tuesday, two former IDF chiefs of staff and now Netanyahu rivals, National Unity MKs Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot, also made the case that retaining Philadelphi is not vital to Israel’s security and pales in comparison to the chance to bring some hostages home.

They join other security officials who have said that Israel can afford to withdraw temporarily from the Philadelphi Corridor to allow for the fulfillment of the first phase of the hostage deal.

The core of the issue

Gantz presented a map of the entire Middle East and argued that Iran was the real strategic threat. He also argued that the Philadelphi Corridor was a tactical issue for which the IDF had sufficient answers, including an underground barrier to block all tunnels. He also rebuffed Netanyahu’s claim that international pressure would prevent Israel from recapturing the corridor if need be.

Israel is now facing two valid approaches to dealing with the current situation in Gaza. The first sees Israel sticking to its guns and not giving an inch to Hamas in the hopes that, in a weakened state, it will eventually concede on its demand of a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. The second approach is agreeing to a phased pullout that would see the release of some of the hostages.

The first approach would make the likelihood of any hostages being released soon very remote unless the IDF locates some of them, as they have done four times during the war. However, as we tragically learned this week, Hamas will likely execute any hostages it deems as being too close to rescue.

The second approach puts Israel in a potentially precarious security situation, one that could conceivably result in a future October 7-like attack or an offensive to recapture Philadelphi.

Given those difficult choices, we believe the country must go with the latter and attempt to save as many of the hostages’ lives now as possible. Despite the potential dangers involved, it’s the right thing to do.

This is what makes us different from everyone else. If there are Israelis or Jews in distress in Gaza or anywhere in the world, Israel is supposed to be there to help them and bring them to safety.

Security is indeed sacrosanct. So is saving lives.