How Israel’s hold on the Philadelphi Corridor could collapse the Gaza ceasefire
The Philadelphi Corridor between the southern Gaza Strip and Egypt
Ahmed Dahaby writes in The New Arab on 5 March, 2025:
Israeli officials have recently doubled down on their refusal to withdraw from the Philadelphi Corridor, a narrow buffer zone along the Gaza-Egypt border that includes the Rafah crossing, the only exit from Gaza not under Israeli control.
Despite Cairo’s demands for withdrawal, citing the 1979 Camp David Peace Treaty, Israeli forces have remained stationed in the corridor since their occupation of the area in May 2024.
The latest statement came from Israeli Defence Minister Yisrael Katz in late February, declaring that the corridor would remain a “buffer zone, just as it is on the borders with Lebanon and Syria,” adding that Israel must “counter the smuggling of ammunition and weapons”.
Israeli media, citing unnamed officials, also reported that “Israel will not withdraw from the Philadelphi Corridor as promised… We will not leave the corridor”.
Meanwhile, Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen outlined three conditions for withdrawal: the return of Israeli hostages, the removal of Hamas from Gaza, and the complete demilitarisation of the enclave.
Israel’s military presence in the Philadelphi Corridor is “a clear violation of the Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty and puts it at serious risk”, Mohamed Mehran, professor of international law and a member of both the American and European societies of international law, told The New Arab.
“The treaty and its security annexes explicitly regulate the military presence along the border, including in the Philadelphi Corridor,” he said, explaining that Israel’s deployment in the area constitutes “a blatant breach” of these regulations, which limit the presence of armed forces near the border.
Major General Salem Mohamed Nasr, former head of reconnaissance and a veteran of the 1973 October War, agrees that the Israeli presence “violates the treaty,” reiterating that the agreement prohibits “armoured forces in Zone D, which extends two to four kilometres on either side of the border”. However, Nasr argued that Israel’s military presence in the corridor is strategically insignificant.