Netanyahu’s remarks were met with outrage mainly among regional countries.

Qatar has expressed its “full solidarity” with Egypt following problematic claims by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday over the smuggling of weapons to Hamas through the Egypt-Gaza Philadelphi Corridor.

In a statement on Tuesday, Qatar’s foreign ministry rejected Netanyahu’s remarks, saying he attempted “to use Egypt’s name to distract Israeli public opinion and obstruct joint mediation efforts”.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs asserts that the Israeli occupation’s approach based on an attempt to falsify facts and mislead world public opinion by repeating lies will ultimately lead to the demise of peace efforts and the expansion of violence in the region,” the statement said.

The Qatari foreign ministry also stressed the need for the international community to strengthen “efforts to oblige Israel to immediately end its brutal aggression on the Gaza Strip”.

Netanyahu’s controversial remarks came during a press conference in Jerusalem on Monday, where he claimed that the Philadelphi Corridor, a 14km strip of land in the borders between Egypt and Gaza, was used to arm Hamas.

“The Philadelphi Corridor. This is Hamas’s lifeline and armament line[…]and the moment we left there, we did not have any barrier to the massive infiltration of weapons[…]Gaza became a massive threat to the State of Israel because there was no barrier here,” Netanyahu alleged.

Netanyahu further claimed that Gaza would become “a terrorist enclave” if Israel withdrew from the corridor, echoing his past attempts to justify the occupation of the Strip and its borders.

Egypt, which has shared diplomatic ties with Israel under the 1978 Camp David Accords, rejected Netanyahu’s remarks on Tuesday.

In a statement on Tuesday, the Egyptian foreign ministry also said Netanyahu’s statement attempted to use Egypt’s name to distract Israeli public opinion and obstruct its efforts alongside Qatar and the United States to reach a ceasefire and a captives release deal.

“Egypt holds the Israeli government responsible for the consequences of making such statements that further aggravate the situation and aim to justify aggressive and inflammatory policies, which lead to further escalation in the region,” the statement said.

The Philadelphi Corridor was initially a buffer zone under the Egypt-Israel 1979 treaty that ended the Israeli occupation of Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula. 

The route has been among the key sticking points in the negotiations between Israel and Hamas, mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the U.S.

Other issues include the Egypt-Gaza Rafah Crossing, which Israel invaded and destroyed on May 6, as well as the Netzarim corridor, which enables Israeli occupation forces to block the return of displaced Palestinians to the north.

Netanyahu has repeatedly rejected the demands to fully withdraw Israeli occupation forces from the Gaza Strip and its borders while refusing to reach a complete ceasefire. 

Since October 7, 2023, Israel has killed 40,786 people while causing widespread destruction and a severe humanitarian crisis in the besieged enclave.

International reactions

Meanwhile, Netanyahu’s remarks were met with outrage mainly among regional countries.

In a statement on Tuesday, Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry condemned Netanyahu’s “absurd” statements, which it said attempted “to justify the continuous Israeli violations of international laws and norms”.

Jordan’s foreign ministry separately issued a statement slamming Israel’s “futile attempts” to justify the ongoing “aggression on the occupied Gaza Strip and the West Bank”.

“In this context, the Ministry rejected the Israeli Prime Minister’s statements yesterday regarding the Philadelphi crossing as baseless allegations aimed at obstructing the mediation efforts undertaken by the Arab Republic of Egypt, the State of Qatar and the United States of America to reach an exchange deal leading to a permanent ceasefire in Gaza,” it said.

The Gulf Cooperation Council’s Secretary General, Jasem AlBudaiwi, expressed the bloc’s “complete solidarity” with Egypt.

“Egypt plays a pivotal role in enhancing regional and international stability through its ongoing mediation efforts to achieve a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian people since the outbreak of the crisis,” he stressed.

Kuwait, a GCC member, echoed AlBudaiwi while voicing its support with Egypt.