Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denied, through his office, that he had agreed to remove Israeli forces from the Gaza-Egypt border as part of a potential cease-fire with Hamas.
The newest ceasefire proposal, backed by the United States, proffered by Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday, is reportedly to include the Israeli forces' withdrawal from the Philadelphi Corridor, a key border area between the Gaza Strip and Egypt- cited Israel's Kan TV.
Two key negotiators in the discussions – Hamas and Egypt – went against Israel's control of the corridor.
Netanyahu has called these rumors "misinformation" and insisted that Israel has not committed to anything regarding ceding control over the region, as reported by Xinhua news service in a statement from his office on Wednesday
"Israel will insist on achieving all of its war objectives as defined by the Security Cabinet, including ensuring that Gaza does not pose a security threat to Israel in the future," the statement outlined.
"The southern border must thereby be stabilized," it said.
Also on Saturday, Netanyahu and US President Joe Biden spoke by phone about developments on the prospective cease-fire-cum-hostage-swaps agreement, the White House said. It gave no further details.
Military sources, however, had, on several occasions, insisted that security interests can be upheld by Israel without the need to maintain control over the Philadelphi stretch.
In reporting the story, the Israeli news site Ynet said the Israeli state's security officials described Netanyahu's persistence in controlling the corridor as being able to undermine the agreement.
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