Egypt’s army chief of staff inspects borders with Gaza amid deadlock in cease-fire talks

By Ibrahim al-Khazen

ISTANBUL (AA) – Egyptian Army Chief of Staff Ahmed Fathy Khalifa made a surprise visit on Thursday to his country’s borders with the Gaza Strip to inspect the security situation there.

A military statement said Khalifa inspected security measures along the border with Gaza, without providing any further details.

"The armed forces are capable of defending the homeland's borders, a generation after another," Khalifa said during the visit.

The visit came one day after a high-level Egyptian source accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of hindering the Gaza cease-fire and prisoner swap negotiations by making claims about weapons smuggling through the Egypt-Gaza border.

The Philadelphi Corridor, a demilitarized area along Egypt’s border with Gaza, has been a sticking point in Gaza cease-fire and prisoner swap negotiations between Israel and Hamas.

Netanyahu insists on maintaining a military presence along the axis, claiming that the corridor is a “lifeline” for Hamas to rearm.

Egypt rejects any Israeli military presence on the corridor and has denounced Netanyahu’s claims about weapons smuggling into Gaza through its territory.

Last week, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said that Israeli military withdrawal from the Philadelphi Corridor poses no security problem to Israel.

For months, the US, Qatar, and Egypt have been trying to reach an agreement between Israel and Hamas to ensure a prisoner exchange and a cease-fire and allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza. But mediation efforts have been stalled due to Netanyahu’s refusal to meet Hamas’ demands to stop the war.

Israel has continued its brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7 Hamas attack despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.

More than 40,800 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have since been killed and nearly 94,300 others injured, according to local health authorities.

An ongoing blockade of the enclave has led to severe shortages of food, clean water and medicine, leaving much of the region in ruins.

Israel faces accusations of genocide for its actions in Gaza at the International Court of Justice.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar