The families of Israeli prisoners held in the Gaza Strip said on Saturday that a prisoner exchange deal with Palestinian factions had been ready for signing since the beginning of July, but new conditions set by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, most notably the Philadelphi Corridor, have hindered its completion.

This came in a press conference held by the prisoners' families in front of the Ministry of Defense headquarters in Tel Aviv.

They said: "There was a deal ready to be signed since the beginning of July, but the new conditions set by Netanyahu, most notably the Philadelphi corridor, hindered its completion."

"Netanyahu is systematically obstructing the deal," she added.

The Israeli families added: "This is not the Philadelphia axis, but the Philadelphia bypass," indicating that Netanyahu is using the Philadelphia axis to circumvent the deal.

"The security system that supports the deal says we can always go back to Philadelphia," she continued.

"Suddenly the life of an entire nation depended on the Philadelphia hub," the families said.

The prisoners' families said, "The majority of Israelis support concluding a deal, even at the expense of stopping the war."

The families of the Israeli prisoners in Gaza called on US President Joe Biden to "pressure the Netanyahu government to complete the exchange deal."

They stressed that this is "the last chance to conclude a prisoner exchange deal with the Palestinian factions."

During the conference, the families of the prisoners raised a large banner on which were written all the names of the prisoners held in Gaza, according to the official broadcasting authority.

Earlier on Saturday, an Israeli channel said that Netanyahu pledged to the US president to withdraw from one kilometer of the Philadelphi corridor separating the Gaza Strip and Egypt, as a new proposal to reach an agreement leading to a ceasefire in Gaza and a prisoner exchange with Hamas.

Netanyahu insists on continuing the war on Gaza, and maintaining military control over the Philadelphi corridor on the border with Egypt, and the Netzarim corridor separating the north and south of the Strip, which reduces the chances of success of the resumed truce negotiations in Cairo.

In contrast, Hamas insists on ending the war, the complete withdrawal of the Israeli army from the Gaza Strip, and the freedom of the displaced to return to their areas, as part of any prisoner exchange and ceasefire agreement.

On Wednesday, the Hebrew website Walla quoted two informed Israeli sources as saying that “on Netanyahu’s orders, Israel’s representatives in the negotiations handed over to representatives of Egypt and the United States maps according to which Israeli army forces will continue to deploy along the Philadelphi corridor as part of implementing the first stage of the deal, but on a smaller scale.”

The website added at the time: "The Egyptians rejected this proposal, and the United States made it clear to Israel that the map that was transferred was unacceptable."

Netanyahu's proposal comes as a Hamas delegation heads to Cairo to learn about developments in the ceasefire talks, which are expected to resume on Saturday or Sunday.

On August 15 and 16, the Qatari capital, Doha, hosted a round of talks on a ceasefire in Gaza and a prisoner exchange. At the conclusion of the talks, the mediators announced that Washington had presented a new agreement proposal to reduce the gaps between Israel and Hamas.

Hamas considered that the American proposal meets Netanyahu's conditions, especially his rejection of a permanent ceasefire and a comprehensive withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, and his insistence on continuing to occupy the Netzarim Corridor, the Rafah Crossing, and the Philadelphi Corridor. He also set new conditions in the prisoner exchange file, and backed down from other items, which prevents the completion of the exchange deal.