Reports: Israel to leave troops in Gaza on border with Egypt

"We will not leave the Philadelphi corridor and will not allow the Hamas murderers (...) to rearm themselves through smuggling," the newspaper "Times of Israel" and the news portal "ynet" quoted an Israeli official as saying.

This refusal could jeopardize the ceasefire that has been in place since 19 January and the return of the 59 Israeli hostages still held by the Islamists. As part of the ceasefire, it had been agreed that the Israeli armed forces would gradually withdraw from the Philadelphi corridor. The withdrawal was to begin at the weekend and be completed around a week later.

The first phase of the ceasefire ends at the weekend. However, according to the agreements, the weapons are to remain silent beyond that, as long as negotiations on a second phase are ongoing. However, these have reportedly not yet actually begun.

According to the agreements, the war is to end for good in the second phase. The Islamists are to release all remaining Israeli hostages and the Israeli army must complete its withdrawal from the coastal strip. However, Israeli government representatives had already emphasized in January that the army would not leave the Gaza Strip until all hostages were back home. In addition, Israel's head of government Benjamin Netanyahu is under pressure from his far-right coalition partners, who are calling for the war to continue until Hamas is completely destroyed.