Abed Zagout/Anadolu/Getty Images
Palestinians who have left their homes and are living in tents due to Israeli attacks talk to an Egyptian soldier at the Rafah border in Rafah, Gaza, January 11, 2024.
CNN –
The border between Egypt and Gaza “must” be closed, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday – a move that would give Israel complete control over the Palestinian enclave's access to the world.
During a news conference, Netanyahu said Israel would not consider the war over until the Philadelphia Corridor, a 14-kilometer-long strip of land that serves as a buffer zone on the Egypt-Gaza border, is closed.
“We will destroy Hamas, we will demilitarize Gaza, and military equipment and other lethal weapons will continue to enter this southern opening, so of course we have to close it,” Netanyahu said.
According to Egyptian news agency Ahram Online, Egypt has previously warned Israel against military operations in the corridor. The state news agency reported in October, citing an unnamed source, that any Israeli incursion into the Philadelphia Corridor would be viewed as a violation of the 1979 Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty.
Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid said in an interview with Egyptian television channel Sada Al-Balad on Saturday that Egypt remains in full control of its borders: “Egypt fully controls and controls its borders, and these issues “There are no security agreements between the countries involved, so all discussions on this issue are fundamentally subject to scrutiny and are responded to with stated positions,” he said.
Gaza borders Israel on two sides, and its Mediterranean coast and airspace are also subject to strict Israeli blockades. The border crossing with Egypt in the city of Rafah is the only border crossing not controlled by Israel, although it is still subject to restricted access and lengthy Egyptian bureaucracy and security procedures.
According to Netanyahu, Israeli officials have not yet decided exactly how they would proceed with closing the Gaza-Egypt border. But this would mean renewed Israeli control of the enclave not seen in years and a blow to the limited sovereignty of Palestinians in Gaza.
Israel occupied Gaza until 2005 and then withdrew troops and settlers. In 2006, Hamas won a surprise landslide victory in the Palestinian parliamentary elections – the last elections held in Gaza. The militant Islamist group, whose charter calls for the “obliteration” of Israel, has controlled the enclave ever since.
But Israel never relinquished control of most of the coastal enclave. For almost 17 years, Gaza has been almost completely cut off from the rest of the world and its population's freedom of movement is severely restricted. Smugglers have long used the enclave's underground tunnel network to funnel in trade goods, people and weapons – a key reason why Israel wants to cut the enclave off from Egypt.
Israel's long-standing blockade has been sharply criticized by international bodies, including the United Nations. A 2022 report said the restrictions had had a “significant impact” on living conditions in Gaza and had “weakened Gaza's economy, leading to high levels of unemployment, food insecurity, and aid dependence.”
But Israel argues that the blockade is crucial to protecting its citizens from Hamas – an argument that has been used since the militant group's devastating attacks in Israel on October 7, in which Israeli authorities said 1,200 people were killed. has become more important.
After the terrorist attacks, Netanyahu's government declared a “full siege” of the Gaza Strip and closed all border crossings, leaving Rafah the only route for negotiated deliveries of basic humanitarian supplies such as food and water, as well as for the evacuation of foreign nationals. In recent weeks, some aid has also been allowed to enter Gaza through Israel's Kerem Shalom border crossing due to strong diplomatic pressure from the United States and other parties.
But aid groups say this is far from enough, warning of a growing risk of famine for Gaza's isolated population if Israeli import restrictions remain in place.
More than 23,000 people have been killed in Gaza in the three-month siege, according to health authorities in the Hamas-controlled enclave. Nearly 70% of those killed were women and children, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in a December report.