Rania Abu Shamala
18 January 2025•Update: 19 January 2025
ISTANBUL
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Saturday that a ceasefire agreement on the Gaza Strip with Hamas, set to take effect Sunday, would be “temporary.”
In a statement, Netanyahu said US President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump gave Israel the right to resume attacks if the next stages of the deal with the Palestinian resistance group are not realized.
“Israel will not decrease the number of troops in the Philadelphi Corridor but will increase them during the first stage,” he alleged.
Netanyahu's office circulated a statement to the media Thursday that was attributed to a "senior political official," pledging not to withdraw from the Philadelphi Corridor.
The text of the agreement between Israel and Hamas, announced Wednesday by Doha and brokered by Qatar, Egypt and the US, however, suggests otherwise. Anadolu Agency obtained a copy of the agreement.
According to the text, "Israeli side will gradually reduce the forces in corridor area during stage 1 based on the accompanying maps and agreement between both sides."
It added, "After the last hostage release of stage one, on day 42, the Israeli forces will begin their withdrawal and complete it no later than day 50."
Qatar announced a three-phase ceasefire agreement to end more than 15 months of deadly Israeli attacks on Gaza with the ceasefire set to take effect at 8.30 a.m. local time (0630GMT) Sunday.
Nearly 47,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, were killed and more than 110,700 injured in Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, according to local health authorities.
The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants in November for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
