JERUSALEM

Disputes have escalated between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over the army’s presence in the Philadelphi Corridor, a demilitarized area along the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt.

Netanyahu sees the axis as a “lifeline for Hamas,” ruling out any withdrawal of the Israeli forces from the corridor, the Israeli public broadcaster KAN said.

Netanyahu’s hardline position is seen by opposition leaders and families of Israeli hostages in Gaza as hindering efforts to reach a Gaza cease-fire and prisoner exchange agreement with Hamas.

Last Thursday, Israel’s security cabinet voted to maintain Israeli military presence at the corridor, a position that drew fire from the defense minister.

Gallant called Israel’s control of the corridor “an unnecessary constraint that we’ve placed on ourselves.”

“We will not live up to the war goals we set for ourselves,” he said during a security cabinet meeting on Sunday. “The decision made Thursday was reached under the assumption that there is time, but if we want live hostages, there’s no time.”

“We endangered soldiers for decades for single individuals. How are we to treat the lives of 30? It’s moral bankruptcy,” the defense minister said, in reference to a 2001 prisoner swap deal with Hamas under which more than 1,000 Palestinian detainees were released in return for captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.

During the meeting, Gallant reminded Netanyahu, “You released 1,027 prisoners, including Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, in exchange for just one man, Gilad Shalit.”

KAN, citing sources close to Netanyahu, said the Israeli premier is not expected to dismiss his defense minister anytime soon despite their strained relations.

Public anger against Netanyahu’s government has grown after the army said Sunday that it had recovered the bodies of six hostages from southern Gaza.

In response, the country’s largest labor union Histadrut called a one-day general strike to pressure the Israeli government to reach an immediate cease-fire and prisoner swap deal with Hamas.

Israel estimates that more than 100 hostages are still being held by the Palestinian group Hamas in Gaza, some of whom are believed to have been already killed.

For months, the US, Qatar and Egypt have been trying to reach an agreement between Israel and Hamas to ensure a prisoner exchange and a cease-fire and allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza. But mediation efforts have been stalled due to Netanyahu’s refusal to meet Hamas’ demands to stop the war.

Israel has continued its brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip following an attack by the Palestinian group Hamas last Oct. 7, despite a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire.

The onslaught has resulted in over 40,700 Palestinian deaths, mostly women and children, and over 94,100 injuries, according to local health authorities.

An ongoing blockade of Gaza has led to severe shortages of food, clean water and medicine, leaving much of the region in ruins.

Israel faces accusations of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which has ordered a halt to military operations in the southern city of Rafah, where over one million Palestinians had sought refuge before the area was invaded on May 6.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio