Biden urges Netanyahu to adjust Gaza border forces amid ceasefire talks

Shafaq News/ US President Joe Biden has urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to partially withdraw Israeli Forces from a section of the Egypt-Gaza border to facilitate progress in the ongoing hostage-release and ceasefire negotiations, three Israeli officials familiar with the discussions told Axios.

According to Axios, in a phone call on Wednesday, Biden requested that Netanyahu ease his stance and agree to a limited pullback of the Israeli Army troops from a 1- to 2-kilometer strip along the Philadelphi corridor, a contentious border area that has become a key sticking point in the negotiations. This area is near the Rafah coast, close to the Tel al-Sultan neighborhood, where a significant number of displaced Palestinians have taken refuge.

Netanyahu has partially accepted Biden's request, agreeing to reposition one army post by a few hundred meters, but he remains firm on maintaining a military presence along the corridor. An aide to Netanyahu confirmed, "The IDF is deployed all along the Philadelphi corridor. The prime minister stands by the principle that this situation will continue."

Axios pointed out that this partial concession by Netanyahu has led to the US backing Israel's position on retaining other Israeli forces in the corridor during the initial phase of the ceasefire deal. As a result, Egypt has agreed to convey the updated Israeli maps of Israeli Army deployments to Hamas, although Israeli officials are skeptical that Hamas will accept the revised positions.

The negotiations, which include high-level talks in Cairo involving CIA Director Bill Burns and Israeli, Egyptian, and Qatari officials, are crucial to advancing the ceasefire deal and the release of hostages held by Hamas. According to White House spokesperson John Kirby, the talks have shown early signs of progress, but he emphasized the importance of all parties, including Hamas, engaging constructively.

The ongoing discussions in Cairo are expected to continue, with further rounds of negotiations planned to bridge the remaining gaps, particularly regarding the deployment of Israeli forces along the Philadelphi corridor.

As the situation develops, all eyes remain on how Hamas will respond to the latest Israeli proposals and whether a final agreement can be reached to ease the ongoing conflict and humanitarian crisis in Gaza, which resulted in the killing of more than 40,000 Palestinians by Israel.