Egypt insists on Israel’s withdrawal from Philadelphi Corridor, Rafah border crossing

By Ibrahim al-Khazen

ISTANBUL (AA) – Egypt maintains its position that Israel must withdraw its troops from the Philadelphi Corridor on the Gaza-Egypt border and from the Rafah border crossing, an Egyptian source said Monday.

The state-affiliated Al-Qahera News channel cited the high-level source denying what Israeli media circulated of Egyptian approval for the Israeli army to stay in the Philadelphi Corridor area.

The source affirmed Egypt's sticking to "the full Israeli withdrawal” from the two locations.

Israel’s public broadcaster, KAN, said an Israeli delegation returned from Egypt after holding talks there on the Israeli presence in the Philadelphi Corridor.

No details were provided by the broadcaster on the talks.

On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the Israeli army will remain in the Philadelphi Corridor.

The Palestinian resistance group Hamas and Egypt insist on Israel’s full withdrawal from the border area.

Gaza cease-fire talks in the Qatari capital, Doha, concluded Friday by presenting "a proposal that narrows the gaps" between Israel and Hamas that is consistent with the principles set out by US President Joe Biden on May 31.

Biden said in May that Israel presented a three-phase deal that would end hostilities in Gaza and secure the release of hostages held in the coastal enclave. The plan includes a cease-fire, a hostage-prisoner exchange and the reconstruction of Gaza.

But Hamas said Sunday that Netanyahu set new conditions in the Gaza cease-fire and hostage swap proposal that was floated during the Doha talks.

“The new proposal (only) meets Netanyahu's conditions and aligns with them, particularly his refusal of a permanent cease-fire, a complete withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, and his insistence on continuing the occupation of the Netzarim Junction (which separates the north and south of the Gaza Strip), the Rafah crossing, and the Philadelphi Corridor (in the south),” Hamas said in a statement.

For months, the US, Qatar and Egypt have been trying to reach an agreement between Israel and Hamas to ensure a prisoner exchange and cease-fire and allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza.

But mediation efforts have been stalled due to Netanyahu’s refusal to meet Hamas’s demands to stop the war.

Israel, flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, has continued its brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas.

The Israeli onslaught has since killed over 40,130 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured more than 92,740, according to local health authorities.

More than 10 months into the Israeli onslaught, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which ordered it to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar in Ankara