Israel Must Control Gaza's Philadephi Corridor, Netanyahu

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is delivering a rare press conference in response to the death of killed six hostages in Gaza. LIVESTREAM

• Netanyahu says: "Israel will not stand silently doing nothing facing this massacre. Hamas will pay a very heavy price..."
• Netanyahu: "We have set four goals: To eliminate Hamas; to bring back all of our hostages; to make sure Gaza no longer poses a threat over Israel; and to allow the people of Israel to return safely to the north."
• Netanyahu says that three of the four goals run through the Philadelphi Corridor: "It is the conduit of oxygen in armament for Hamas."
• Netanyahu uses a map to demonstrate the Philadephi Corridor's centrality to Israel's security, saying that when Israel pulled out of Gaza in the past, "there was no obstacle" preventing a "massive infusion of weapons and means of warfare" supplied by Iran via the Egyptian border with Gaza.
• Netanyahu says: "We must have control over the Philadelphi Corridor, Hamas insists for exactly this reason that we won't be there," adding later "We won't leave Philadelphi even for 42 days."
• Netanyahu's comments further imperil ongoing Gaza ceasefire negotiations, which largely hinge on a demilitarisation of the Philadelphi Corridor, in accordance with Phase 1 of the proposal outlined by US President Joe Biden on May 31.
• Netanyahu claims that Israel agreed with the 'final bridging proposal' put forward by the US on August 16, "but Hamas refused to the first one and then to the second one."