Israeli official says army will not withdraw from strategic corridor in Gaza
An Israeli group representing families of hostages held by Hamas said the remains of all four hostages returned early Thursday have been identified.
Israel will not withdraw from a strategic corridor in the Gaza Strip as called for by the ceasefire, an official has said.
Israel’s refusal could spark a crisis with Hamas and key mediator Egypt at a sensitive moment for the fragile truce.
Hours earlier, Hamas released the remains of four hostages in exchange for more than 600 Palestinian prisoners, the last planned swap of the ceasefire’s first phase, which ends this weekend. Talks over the second and more difficult stage have yet to begin.
The official said Israeli forces need to remain in the so-called Philadelphi corridor, on the Gaza side of the border with Egypt, to prevent weapons smuggling.
Responding to Mr Katz, Hamas said any Israeli attempt to maintain a buffer zone in the corridor would be a “blatant violation” of the ceasefire agreement. In an earlier statement, Hamas said that sticking to the agreement was the only way for Israel to secure the release of dozens of hostages still held in Gaza.
Israel is supposed to begin withdrawing from the Philadelphi corridor on Saturday, the last day of the first phase, and complete it within eight days.
Much could hinge on a visit by US President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, who is expected in the region in the coming days.
The remains released on Thursday were confirmed to be those of Ohad Yahalomi, Itzhak Elgarat, Shlomo Mantzur and Tsachi Idan, according to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which represents families of the captives.
Mr Mantzur, 85, was killed in Hamas’s attack on October 7 2023 that triggered the war, and his body was taken into the territory. The other three were abducted alive and the circumstances surrounding their deaths were not known.
“Our hearts ache upon receiving the bitter news,” Israeli President Isaac Herzog said. “In this painful moment, there is some solace in knowing that they will be laid to rest in dignity in Israel.”
Hamas confirmed that more than 600 prisoners had been released overnight. Most were detainees returned to Gaza, where they had been rounded up after the October 7 attack and held without charge on security suspicions.
Some of the released prisoners fell to their knees in gratitude after disembarking from buses in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis. In the West Bank town of Beitunia, dozens of prisoners were welcomed by crowds of relatives and well-wishers.
Israel delayed the release of the prisoners on Saturday over Hamas’s practice of parading hostages before crowds and cameras during their release. Israel, along with the Red Cross and UN officials, have called the ceremonies humiliating for the hostages.
Hamas released the four bodies to the Red Cross in Gaza overnight without a public ceremony.
The prisoners released on Thursday included 445 men, 21 teenagers and one woman, according to lists shared by Palestinian officials that did not specify their ages.
Only around 50 Palestinians were released into the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem in this round, while dozens sentenced to life over deadly attacks against Israelis were exiled.
The latest handover was the final one planned under the ceasefire’s first six-week phase, which expires this weekend. Hamas has returned 33 hostages, including eight bodies, in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to return all the hostages and destroy the military and governing capabilities of Hamas, which remains in control of Gaza. The Trump administration has endorsed both goals.
But it is unclear how Israel would destroy Hamas without resuming the war, and Hamas is unlikely to release the remaining hostages — its main bargaining chips — without a lasting ceasefire.
The ceasefire, brokered by the United States, Egypt and Qatar, ended 15 months of war that erupted after Hamas’s 2023 attack on southern Israel that killed about 1,200 people. About 250 people were taken hostage.
Israel’s military offensive has killed more than 48,000 Palestinians, according to Palestinian health officials, who do not differentiate between civilian and combatant deaths but say more than half of the dead have been women and children.
The fighting displaced an estimated 90% of Gaza’s population and decimated the territory’s infrastructure and health system.
