Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu held a press conference on Monday evening and stressed the vital importance of maintaining an Israeli military presence on the Philadelphi Corridor. Netanyahu began by asking forgiveness from the families of the six hostages that “we weren’t able to bring them back alive. We were close but didn’t make it.” Netanyahu continued by saying that the murder of the hostages didn’t happen because Israel decided to maintain a military presence on the Philadelphi Corridor but because “Hamas doesn’t want a deal.” The prime minister, who is known for favoring the use of props during major press conferences, then turned to a map of the Philadelphi Corridor area and explained that  “the road to achieving the goals of the war passes through the Philadelphi Corridor. That is Hamas’s  pipeline.” “Only when we entered Philadelphia did we feel a change in the war,” he said. “For months after the November deal, Hamas refused to budge in negotiations for a deal. The first crack came after we entered Rafah and took control of Philadelphi and the Rafah crossing. Then suddenly they began talking differently.” He added that following the Disengagement in 2005, Israel left the area, relying on Egypt’s promises that it would prevent smuggling. “It was a strategic error that could not be corrected afterward to international opposition,” he said, adding that at the time, he pushed for Israel to maintain control over the Corridor and reiterated the demand to then-prime minister Ariel Sharon when he resigned from the government. “What happened when we left, was that there was no obstacle for the flow of arms, weapon-producing materials, and equipment to dig tunnels, all under the auspices of Iran,” he said. “Gaza became an enormous threat to Israel because there was no barrier.” “The Axis of Evil [led by Iran] needs the Philadelphi Axis, ” Netanyahu stressed and “that’s exactly why Israel must permanently control it.” He rapped the claim that Israel could temporarily leave the area as part of a deal and then return, pointing out how the same statements were made when Israel left Lebanon in 2000 and Gaza in 2005. Former Israeli prime ministers Ariel Sharon and Ehud Barak promised Israelis that IDF forces would immediately return if any attacks were made from the territories. That proved impossible due to international diplomatic factors. “If we leave, we won’t return,” Netanyahu emphasized. “We won’t return,” he repeated, explaining that unrelenting diplomatic pressure on Israel will make it impossible to return. “This corridor is different from all the other places — it is central, it determines all of our future,” he said, adding that if the IDF leaves the area even temporarily, Hamas could smuggle hostages into the Sinai and from there to Iran and Yemen. “We are not leaving. This is a strategic, existential issue for Israel. If we leave now, we won’t return—not in 42 days, not in 42 years. This is Hamas’s lifeline. Are we going to let them rearm and slaughter us again? Anyone who wants us to leave the Philadelphi Corridor undermines the war’s objectives. Did our soldiers fall in vain, only for us to let Hamas rebuild?” Netanyahu questioned the message Israel would convey to Hamas by leaving the Corridor. “After they killed six of our hostages in cold blood? What […]