Egypt demands that Israel give up control of Rafah crossing in first days of possible ceasefire – report

Egypt insists that Israel must relinquish control of the Rafah Border Crossing during the first days of a potential ceasefire, the Saudi-owned Al Hadath outlet reports, quoting unnamed sources.

As the heads of the Mossad and Shin Bet intelligence agencies head to Cairo for talks, Egyptian mediators have been attempting to narrow the gaps between Israel and Hamas and to pressure Israel to phase out the IDF presence along the Philadelphi route. To persuade the terror group to come to an agreement, Egypt has told Hamas that it agrees with its position rejecting any permanent Israeli presence along the border corridor, Al Hadath adds.

On Friday, Axios reported that in a phone call with US President Joe Biden, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to change the location of one IDF position and move it a few hundred meters, in a way that would not affect Israel’s operational control of the border. In response, Biden is said to have backed Netanyahu’s demand that IDF troops continue to hold the rest of the border in the first stage of a deal.

Netanyahu’s office said in a statement on Thursday that the prime minister insists on Israel controlling the Philadelphi Corridor to prevent Hamas rearming with weapons smuggled into Gaza from Egypt.