US President Joe Biden held a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday evening, which focused on the proposed deal with Hamas to cease fire and exchange prisoners.

The official Israeli Broadcasting Corporation said: “Biden spoke with Netanyahu, and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris participated in the conversation.”

It added that Biden discussed with Netanyahu “the proposed deal to release the kidnapped and cease fire,” without further details.

In a related context, Netanyahu’s office denied on Wednesday that the latter had agreed to the US proposal to withdraw from the Philadelphi Corridor on the border between Gaza and Egypt, as part of a deal to stop the war and exchange prisoners with Hamas.

The official Israeli Broadcasting Corporation had previously said on Wednesday that Netanyahu “agreed to the US proposal to withdraw from the Philadelphi Corridor (Salah al-Din) in the second phase of the deal, but Hamas and Egypt are demanding that the corridor be evacuated first.”

In response, Netanyahu's office said in a statement published by the authority: "The report is incorrect. Israel will insist on achieving all the war goals, as determined by the security cabinet."

The office added: "This includes the goal that Gaza will no longer pose a security threat to Israel, and this requires closing the southern border," referring to Israeli control of the Philadelphi Corridor.

On Tuesday, the Hebrew newspaper Maariv quoted Netanyahu as telling representatives of the families of Israeli prisoners in Gaza: "Israel will not leave the Philadelphi Corridor and the Netzarim Corridor (the separation between the center and south of the Strip) under any circumstances, despite the enormous pressure it is under to do so."

On Sunday, Netanyahu stressed his insistence on maintaining his forces' control over the Philadelphi Corridor, and opposition leader Yair Lapid accused him of stalling and sabotaging the negotiations.

With American support, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7, leaving more than 133,000 Palestinian martyrs and wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 10,000 missing, amid massive destruction and deadly famine.

In disregard of the international community, Israel continues the war, ignoring the UN Security Council resolution to stop it immediately, and the International Court of Justice’s orders to take measures to prevent acts of genocide and improve the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza.