Netanyahu to nation: To suffocate Hamas, return hostages, protect Israel, we absolutely must control border between Gaza and Egypt

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JERUSALEM, ISRAEL — Agreeing to the world’s demands to leave Gaza prematurely, even to have the IDF leave the Egyptian border area temporarily, would be a serious and strategic error that would embolden and resupply Hamas and put Israelis in grave danger.

That’s the case that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made last night in a nationally televised press conference in Hebrew.

A visibly emotional Netanyahu apologized to the hostage families and nation for not being able to get the six recently murdered hostages out in time.

He called them six “pure souls” and vowed Hamas would pay a heavy price for this “horrible massacre.”

However, the prime minister insisted that the only way to get back the remaining 101 hostages and protect all Israelis from future attacks by Hamas was not to surrender the vital gains the IDF has made so far.

ISRAEL MUST SUFFOCATE HAMAS BY CUTTING ITS SUPPLY LINES

His top priority right now?

The IDF absolutely must maintain control of the border between Gaza and Egypt called the Philadelphi Corridor, Netanyahu said.

He called it “the oxygen tube for Hamas” because through the smuggling tunnels on that border has come most of the weapons, ammunition, rockets, explosives, and other supplies that the terror group needs to fight Israel.

Cutting off those supply lines will suffocate Hamas and persuade them to make a deal, the prime minister insisted.

Israel must have control of this zone “or we are going to have another 7th of October and another 7th of October and another 7th of October, as Hamas has promised to do.”

“The axis of evil needs the Philadelphi Corridor and for that same reason we must control it.”

ARIEL SHARON’S ‘DISENGAGEMENT’ FROM GAZA IN 2005 WAS A DISASTER

Netanyahu said that for more than 20 years he has warned that Israel must not surrender this corridor.

When he resigned from the government of then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in 2005 over Sharon’s decision to unilaterally surrender Gaza and pull all Israeli soldiers and civilians from the Gaza Strip, Netanyahu said that in his resignation letter, he insisted Sharon never give up control of the Philadelphi Corridor.

When Netanyahu came back into power, he said he had led several campaigns to neutralize Hamas, noting the three times he tried to bomb and disrupt Hamas' smuggling on the Egyptian border.

But “there was no international legitimacy” and “no national consensus” to send the IDF to invade the Gaza Strip and retake control of the Philadelphi Corridor.

“The world insists that we should not be there,” Netanyahu said. “But I insist that we will be there.”

Previous Israeli leaders said the IDF would go back into Gaza “when Hamas fires the first missile,” Netanyahu noted, but “Hamas fired thousands of missiles and we did not go back in.”

That’s why Israel cannot leave now because “the world will impose tremendous political pressure on us” to prevent us from going back into the Philadelphi Corridor and retaking control of it.

“This line is different from all other lines. It decides our entire future. Its importance is huge for us.”

GETTING OUR HOSTAGES BACK REQUIRES HOLDING PHILADELPHI CORRIDOR

Giving up our control of the border with Egypt “will not bring our hostages back – just the opposite,” Netanyahu argued.

Hamas began to negotiate and show signs of willingness to compromise only after we seized control of Rafah and the Philadelphi Corridor, he said.

“They thought that Iran will save them. Or Hezbollah will come save them. They are hoping that international pressure – or internal Israeli pressure – will affect it. But the first change for a possible [hostage deal] came because we took control of the Philadelphi Line.”

“Once we get out of it we will not be able to go back in,” Netanyahu said.

“I didn’t say Israel will be there 42 years,” Netanyahu noted.

“But when we left it last time, we didn’t return for 20 years.”