By Yaqut Dandashi
ISTANBUL (AA) – Palestinian group Hamas on Thursday hailed Egypt’s position against Israeli threats over the Philadelphia Corridor on the border with the Gaza Strip.
The Philadelphia Corridor is a narrow strip within the territory of the Gaza Strip, extending 14 km (8.7 miles) along the border between the enclave and Egypt.
Under the 1979 Camp David Accords between Egypt and Israel, this route is a demilitarized zone that was under Israeli control before Tel Aviv withdrew from the Gaza Strip in 2005.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu repeatedly said in previous weeks that the Philadelphia Corridor area must be under Israel's control.
Egypt warned Israel earlier this week that any military takeover of the corridor would damage relations between Cairo and Tel Aviv.
“We appreciate Egypt’s positions against threats by the Israeli occupation regarding the Philadelphia Corridor,” Hamas spokesman Taher Nounou said in a statement.
He said the Egyptian position “reflects Cairo’s support for the Palestinian people in this historic battle and its rejection of the brutal aggression against our people.”
On Wednesday, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi accused Netanyahu of hindering the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.
According to Israeli Channel 13, Sisi refused to take a phone call from Netanyahu amid the ongoing Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip.
Israel has launched a deadly offensive on the Palestinian territory since an Oct. 7 Hamas attack, killing at least 25,700 Palestinians and injuring 63,740 others. Nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack.
The Israeli war has left 85% of Gaza’s population internally displaced amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while more than half of the enclave’s infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.
*Writing by Mohammad Sio