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Israelis Prioritize Controlling Philadelphi Corridor Over Securing Hostage Deal, Polling Shows
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stands before a map of the Gaza Strip, telling viewers that Israel must retain control over the “Philadelphi corridor,” a strategic area along the territory’s border with Egypt, during a news conference in Jerusalem, Sept. 2, 2024. Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg/Pool via REUTERS
JNS.org — Two new polls reveal that a majority of Israelis support maintaining control of the Philadelphi Corridor, the 8.7-mile-long strip of land extending the length of the Egypt-Gaza border, even at the expense of a hostage deal with Hamas.
Forty-nine percent of Jewish Israelis agreed with the statement, “Israel must not relinquish control of the Philadelphi Corridor even at the expense of a hostage deal,” according to the most recent poll, conducted on Sept. 1 just hours after news broke of the murder of six Israeli hostages by Hamas.
Forty-three percent of those surveyed supported the statement, “Israel should give up control of the Philadelphi Corridor to enable a hostage deal.”
The poll was conducted by The Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI), a left-leaning, Israel-based think tank.
The second survey, conducted by polling firm Direct Polls on July 24, asked, “Do you agree with the statement that ‘Israel needs to control in a permanent way the Philadelphi Corridor in order to prevent weapons smuggling from Egypt to terror organizations in the Gaza Strip?’”
Seventy-nine percent agreed or agreed “very strongly” with the statement. Six percent didn’t agree or “completely didn’t agree.” Sixteen percent had no position.
The survey was carried out for a new group called “Gaza Forever.” It describes itself as a “movement for the humanitarian evacuation of all residents of Gaza to the nations of the world.”
According to a statement on the group’s website, “In an evacuation-compensation process, all residents of Gaza who desire it will be evacuated to a better home in another country.”
Following the news of the six hostages’ murders, large-scale protests took place across Israel on Monday, blocking roads in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. The protests continued on Tuesday.
The protesters hold the Netanyahu government responsible for the failure to reach a deal with Hamas to free the hostages.
The Histadrut, Israel’s labor federation, held a general strike on Monday, joining with the protesters in holding the government responsible.
“A deal is not progressing due to political considerations and that cannot be accepted. The abandonment of the hostages, of the displaced, of the collapsing economy must be stopped,” Histadrut Chairman Arnon Bar-David said on Sunday, announcing the strike.
However, Israel’s National Labor Court ordered the strike cut short, ruling it was politically motivated and therefore illegal.
Many local government authorities had refused to join the strike, including those of Jerusalem, Ashdod, Netanya, Ramla, Dimona, Sderot, Holon, Petah Tikva, Safed, all townships in the West Bank, and others.
The polls suggest that the demonstrators, though a large and vocal minority, do not represent most Israelis.
JPPI noted in the summary of its poll: “The survey proved that the position of the government is in line with the prevailing sentiment among its supporters, and a plurality of the Jewish public.”
Israel’s Security Cabinet voted on Sept. 29 to support Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s position that Israel must maintain a military presence along the Philadelphi Corridor indefinitely. Only Defense Minister Yoav Gallant voted against.
Addressing the nation on Monday night, Netanyahu called the corridor “the oxygen and the arming of Hamas.”
“The axis of evil needs the Philadelphi Corridor; for this reason, we need the Philadelphi Corridor,” he added.
If Israel gives up control of the border area as Hamas has demanded during the ongoing ceasefire talks, the remaining captives could be smuggled out to Egypt and from there to Iran or Yemen, said Netanyahu.
He went on to say that he had been “absolutely shocked” that Gallant had voted against the Cabinet decision.
The post Israelis Prioritize Controlling Philadelphi Corridor Over Securing Hostage Deal, Polling Shows first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War

Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests

A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan

Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.