Hersh, one of six hostages tragically slain by Hamas militants in a Rafah tunnel over the weekend, was mourned by his father, Jon Polin, along with thousands of grieving mourners at a Jerusalem cemetery on Monday afternoon. Polin expressed regret, saying, “We failed you,” and held the hope that his son’s untimely passing might instigate a resolution to Israel’s recurrent hostage crisis. He hoped his son’s death could be the spark that initiates the release of the remaining 101 hostages.
Expressing views akin to Polin’s, President Yitzhak Herzog during his tribute urged administrative authorities to “do everything in their power to rescue those who can still be saved”, asserting it to be a ‘supreme moral, Jewish, and human duty’.
However, by Monday evening, hopes for a significant policy shift that might lead to a ceasefire were quashed, despite the fact that the six hostages had endured almost 11 months of captivity, having been captured during Hamas’s southern Israel raids on the 7th of October.
In a televised press conference, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu reaffirmed his stance, insisting on the continual presence of Israeli forces along the Philadelphi corridor, a 14km stretch along the Gaza-Egypt border after hostages are discharged. He used a tactile visual aid, a large map of Gaza, to underscore his argument, referring to the strategic importance of maintaining control over this route, a frequent conduit for Hamas’s weapon smuggling into Gaza which he referred to as their “life-line”.
The PM stressed that retracting Israeli troops would impede the achievement of Israel’s military objectives. However, this strategy was in stark contrast to that of Defence Minister Yoav Gallant and Israel’s top-tier military and intelligence groups. They advocate a ceasefire, asserting that the Israel Defence Forces have the capability to retake the area rapidly if required.
Furthermore, they highlighted that Israel has already demolished over 80 per cent of the Hamas tunnels in the Philadelphi corridor and deemed it unrealistic that new tunnels could be constructed during the initial proposed 42-day ceasefire period, when the majority of the living hostages are expected to be liberated.
Military experts share the viewpoint that the Rafah crossing holds more significance for Hamas’s weapon smuggling operations from Egypt as compared to the Philadelphi corridor, both overland and underground. Additionally, they note that Hamas continued its tunnel construction into Egypt and smuggling of lethal weaponry, including high-impact bombs and anti-tank missiles, even during Israel’s occupation of Gaza.
However, critics have taken issue with Netanyahu’s stance on the Philadelphi debate, demonstrating the fact that he scarcely addressed the matter during the initial eight months of warfare. They further question if Philadelphi was that vital, why did Israel not capture it either during the Gaza war’s early stages or in prior bouts of conflict with Hamas in Gaza.
Yair Lapid, the leader of the opposition, positions the Philadelphi debate as a diversion, arguing that Netanyahu is solely driven by his desire to retain power. The threat of withdrawal from the government by the two far-right parties in the governing coalition of Tel Aviv, if Israeli forces retreat from the corridor as part of a ceasefire agreement, supports this. Lapid suggests Netanyahu’s true concern is not the Philadelphi corridor but the Ben Gvir-Smotrich slab, referring to the leaders of the far-right parties, Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich. Lapid asserts this as another scheme of Netanyahu’s to save his deteriorating coalition, purely political in nature.
As per an unattributed source close to the ceasefire talks, Netanyahu has caused havoc with just one address, speaking after his Monday evening press meet. Such political manoeuvring could have life-altering implications for Israeli captives still contained in Gaza.