What are Gaza's Philadelphi, Netzarim corridors and why are they so important? - explainer

The hostage deal talks between Israel and Hamas have widely been reported as being stuck on a couple of key issues, specifically the statuses of the Philadelphi and Netzarim corridor.

These are two of several highly valued strategic locations along the Gaza border, and they have been a facet of Israeli security decisions for years.

The former is a 14-kilometer-long narrow stretch of land that essentially separates the Gaza Strip from Egypt's Sinai Desert. The latter is inside Gaza proper and separates Gaza City from Central Gaza.

What is the history of the Philadelphi Corridor?

The Philadelphi Corridor is an Israeli term – albeit one reportedly chosen by the IDF at random – for a strip of land that separates Gaza from Egypt, and was specifically defined as such in the 2004 draft plan for the Israeli disengagement from the Gaza Strip. 

The corridor begins at the Mediterranean coast and snakes along the border until reaching the Kerem Shalom crossing from Israel into southern Gaza. 

It has been important to Israeli security since 1979, when it was part of the Israel-Egypt peace treaty and marked where the new border between Israel and Egypt would be after Jerusalem agreed to hand the Sinai back. 

The treaty agreed that the border would be in accordance with the borders of British Mandate-era Palestine. However, this resulted in dividing up the major Gazan city of Rafah, which straddled the border. 

When Israel withdrew from Gaza, a new agreement regarding the Philadelphi Corridor was made with Egypt. Known as the Philadelphi Accord, it stipulated that Egypt and the Palestinian Authority would maintain security along the border and that Cairo would maintain security and intelligence cooperation. 

The reason for this was to make sure there wouldn't be any weapons smuggling into Gaza after Israel withdrew. However, the move was highly controversial, as many feared that this would lead to Gaza becoming militarized and a threat to regional security, as well as due to the fact that the Knesset never actually approved the Philadelphi Accord. 

Under the auspices of the Philadelphi Accord, Egypt and the Palestinian Authority opened the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and the Sinai. 

Why is the Philadelphi Corridor so strategically important?

The importance of the Philadelphi Corridor has always been its status as a border and buffer, limiting what can go in and out of the Gaza Strip - especially weapons. 

While there was always some level of concern regarding weapons being smuggled into Gaza, the fear of a militarized Gaza Strip greatly intensified when Hamas took over.

Smuggling tunnels had long been a feature of the border, but with the increased danger of Hamas, Egyptian forces soon began targeting the tunnels in greater earnest. Egypt further took measures to create buffer zones along the corridor, even through the demolishing of homes to do so. 

Despite this, the Philadelphi Corridor is also vital for its role in housing the Rafah border crossing, one of the very few crossings in and out of Gaza, and the only one out of Gaza into Egypt. 

As such, it became a significant source of humanitarian aid being sent to Gaza during the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. 

As Rafah became a major target of the IDF in its campaign to wipe out Hamas, it took greater liberties in stationing troops in the corridor and the Rafah crossing, which are supposed to be under Egypt's control. 

What is the history of the Netzarim Corridor?

The Netzarim Corridor is an eight-kilometer stretch of land that connects the Mediterranean Sea with the site of the former Karni crossing in northeastern Gaza. 

Initially, the corridor was home to Netzarim, an Israeli settlement in Gaza created in 1972 and then evacuated during the 2005 Disengagement. 

Following the Oslo Accords and before Disengagement, Netzarim was essentially an isolated Israeli exclave in Gaza, often completely barred from Israeli road traffic without IDF troop convoys. It relied entirely on the Karni Crossing to connect with Israel proper.

However, the corridor was later found to have greater strategic value in the years since. 

Why is the Netzarim Corridor so strategically important?

Its location just a few kilometers south of Gaza City makes it an ideal barrier between the Strip's largest city and the rest of Gaza. It was for this reason that the IDF seized control of the Netzarim Corridor in 2008 during Operation Cast Lead, allowing Israeli forces to essentially divide Gaza into two parts.

This was repeated again in the current Israel-Hamas war, with Israel establishing several military bases in the area. This time, the IDF had expressed a strategic goal of isolating northern Gaza, preventing its residents from moving northward, and maintaining control of this dividing area between north and central Gaza. 

On a military level, this also allowed the IDF greater operational capabilities for maneuvering on both sides of the corridor, helping box in Gaza City, and hitting targets in towns in central Gaza. 

The corridor also helps Israel control the flow of supplies and humanitarian aid into northern Gaza, and IDF troops stationed there are also meant to prevent Hamas from regrouping in the north part of the Strip. 

What do Israel and Hamas want to happen with the Philadelphi and Netzarim corridors in the hostage deal talks?

Israel has stressed that it wants to maintain control over the two corridors. Both of them allow the IDF to have greater control over the flow of goods into Gaza, with the Philadelphi Corridor securing southern Gaza and the Netzarim Corridor securing northern Gaza.

According to several Israeli officials, these areas are of vital importance to their goal of maintaining Israeli security and in wiping out Hamas, as control over them helps prevent the Palestinian terrorist group from rearming itself. The corridors are also ideal points for the IDF to carry out raids on Hamas targets throughout Gaza in the hopes of preventing the terrorist group from regaining control.

However, Hamas has also demanded Israel entirely vacate both corridors as part of any hostage deal. 

Both parties seem to consider control of the corridors as red lines that they refuse to compromise over, and they remain the major obstacles towards a hostage deal and ceasefire.