All-round pressure on Israel for ceasefire, what will Netanyahu do now, surrounded in his own house?

Israel is going through the most difficult period in its history. On one hand, there is huge international pressure on it for a ceasefire in Gaza, on the other hand, there are continuous protests in Israeli cities for the release of hostages from the captivity of Hamas. On Saturday, thousands of people took to the streets of Tel Aviv and marched. Along with this, the protesters demanded an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, so that the hostages could be safely released. 

Family members and friends of those held hostage by Hamas fear that if Israel does not agree to a ceasefire, the war will drag on and more hostages will be killed. The people involved in the demonstration have also appealed to the Israeli government to accept the proposal for a ceasefire given by US President Joe Biden. America has put forward a new peace proposal to Israel and Hamas to end the war that has been going on in Gaza for almost eight months.  

This proposal calls for the release of Israeli hostages and the reconstruction of residential areas of Gaza. On Friday, President Joe Biden said that the new peace proposal has three phases. In the first phase, the ceasefire will be implemented for 6 weeks. During this time, Israeli soldiers will withdraw from the populated areas of Gaza. Along with this, Hamas will release elderly and female Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. 

In the second phase, Israel and Hamas will negotiate to end the conflict forever. The ceasefire will remain in force during this period. In the third and final phase, the reconstruction work of Gaza will be started. While talking to reporters at the White House, the US President said that everyone wants peace. Now the time has come to end this war. He has appealed to the leaders of both parties to take advantage of this opportunity. 

Biden had said, “This is a roadmap for a permanent ceasefire and the release of all hostages.” This proposal has been sent by Qatar to Hamas. I want to keep fair conditions for American citizens and the world. This new proposal has three phases.” Earlier, Hamas had also given a peace proposal to Israel, which it refused to accept. Hamas’ proposal called for the release of hostages in exchange for the immediate withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza. 

There were also talks in Egypt for a ceasefire in Gaza, which were inconclusive. Even in Egypt, no consensus could be reached on the peace proposal. At that time Hamas was demanding a complete ceasefire. He wanted the war in Gaza to end completely with a permanent ceasefire and Israeli forces to withdraw. At the same time, Israel was insisting on stopping the fighting for some time. Meanwhile, the Israeli army has claimed to have captured the Philadelphia Corridor.

Considered strategically important, this corridor bordering Gaza and Egypt is called the ‘Philadelphia Corridor’. It is called the buffer zone because it is the neutral area between Egypt and Gaza. After the capture of this corridor, the entire land border of Gaza has now come under the control of Israel. The IDF said that it had also discovered 20 tunnels here. It was used for the smuggling of weapons.

IDF spokesman David Menser said, “I can confirm the report that our troops have captured the Philadelphia corridor.” Which is the narrow border corridor between Egypt and Rafah. Egypt has rejected Israel’s claim of finding a tunnel in the Philadelphia Corridor. He says that Israel is making false claims to try to justify its military action in Rafah city of southern Gaza.