Egypt rejects Israeli troop presence on Gaza border, upholds pre-war security arrangements

CAIRO:

Egypt will not allow Israeli troops to stay on its border with Gaza nor accept any other changes to the security arrangements that were in place before the war between Israel and Hamas, the Egyptian foreign minister said on Wednesday.

Security on the border, and whether Israel will maintain a troop presence along a 14-km (9-mile) buffer zone known as the Philadelphi Corridor, has become a focal point of months-long talks aimed at securing a ceasefire and the release of hostages held in the Palestinian enclave.

Israeli troops entered the buffer zone in May as they pressed an offensive around Rafah in the south of Gaza. That resulted in the closure of the Rafah crossing and a sharp reduction in both international humanitarian aid being delivered to Gaza and medical evacuations from the territory.

Egypt, which is a mediator in ceasefire talks, says Israel must withdraw and that a Palestinian presence needs to be restored at the Rafah crossing between Egypt's Sinai Peninsula and Gaza.

"Egypt reiterates its position, it rejects any military presence along the opposite side of the border crossing and the aforementioned (Philadelphi) corridor," Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty told a press conference in Cairo with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Abdelatty also expressed frustration at new demands and claims that had prevented an agreement. "There is a lack of political will of a certain party, which is clear when we get to the moment of truth for reaching to a deal," he said in an apparent reference to Israel.

Abdelatty added that Hamas, which he said Egypt dealt with as a "Palestinian national faction", remained fully committed to a ceasefire proposal announced by US President Joe Biden in late May, and amendments to that proposal made in early July.

Subsequent Israeli demands to keep troops in Gaza complicated attempts to reach a deal.

Like Blinken, Abdelatty also said that any escalation, including the explosions that killed and wounded Hezbollah operatives in Lebanon on Tuesday, could create hurdles for the completion of a Gaza ceasefire deal. Hezbollah has accused Israel of being behind the blasts.

"Certainly what happened not only hinders the ongoing negotiations, but also carries the threat of entry into a comprehensive war."