By Ibrahim Khazin
CAIRO (AA) – Cairo has not reached or is nearing an agreement with Israel to hand over a buffer zone between Egypt and Gaza, known as the Philadelphia Axis, Egyptian media reported late Thursday.
Earlier in the day, Israel’s Army Radio claimed Tel Aviv is close to reaching an agreement with Cairo to take control of the Philadelphia Axis, with Israel pledging to give Palestinians enough time to evacuate Rafah.
The AlQahera News, which is close to Egyptian authorities, quoted an unnamed "high-level security source" who denied the reports.
The source denied "nearing an agreement with Israel on Rafah and the Salah al-Din/Philadelphia Corridor" and ruled out "the installation of any technological devices in the corridor."
The source also rejected “any new security arrangements for the corridor.”
Egypt earlier said any Israeli attempt to occupy the border area between Gaza and Egypt would threaten the bilateral Israeli-Egyptian relations.
The Philadelphia Corridor is a 14-kilometer (8.7-mile) long narrow strip of land that serves as a buffer zone on the Egypt-Gaza border and is guaranteed by the Israeli-Egyptian Peace Treaty of 1979.
The Israeli radio claimed on Thursday that both sides have been in talks in recent weeks to resolve disagreements between the two countries, with Tel Aviv seeking control of the Philadelphia Axis and Egypt opposing this due to concerns about the current situation in Gaza.
Since the start of the Israeli onslaught on Gaza on Oct. 7, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have been displaced from the north and center of the Gaza Strip to the south following the destruction of thousands of homes, making Rafah the most densely populated city with displaced people.
On Monday, the US Axios media outlet reported that “Israeli Shin Bet security agency director Ronen Bar visited Cairo and met with his Egyptian counterpart, Abbas Kamel, on Monday amid tensions between Israel and Egypt over the war in Gaza and the possibility of the Israeli military expanding its operation to the Palestinian city of Rafah on the border with Egypt.”
The visit took place amid tensions between Egypt and Israel as a result of Israeli officials' statements confirming their intention to launch a military operation on the border and seize control of the Philadelphia Corridor, which Egypt strongly opposes.
The Philadelphia Corridor has been emphasized by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on multiple occasions as “militarily essential for military control.”
Israel launched a deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip on Oct. 7, killing at least 26,900 Palestinians and injuring 65,949. Nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack.
The Israeli offensive has left 85% of Gaza’s population internally displaced amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, while 60% of the enclave’s infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.
*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala