Egypt on Monday reiterated its absolute rejection of Israel’s control over the Rafah crossing and the Philadelphi corridor, accusing it of seeking to change the reality on the ground and prevent a truce in Gaza, which could lead to an expansion of the war and herald disastrous consequences.
Cairo News Channel quoted a senior Egyptian source as saying that Israel is the one refusing to reach a ceasefire in Gaza.
The Egyptian official added that his country rejects the Israeli presence in Rafah and the Philadelphi Corridor.
The official’s statements said, “Egypt reiterates its emphasis on the constants and determinants of any peace agreement, foremost among which is the categorical rejection of the Israeli presence at the Philadelphi Corridor and the Rafah crossing,” stressing that the continuation of the Israeli war on Gaza and the possibility of its regional expansion “foretells dire consequences at all levels.”
It is noteworthy that the Philadelphi Corridor is a 14-kilometre-long buffer strip separating the Palestinian territories in the Gaza Strip and the Egyptian Sinai Peninsula, and represents a strategic security area subject to a bilateral Egyptian-Israeli agreement.
The Philadelphi Corridor is located on the Palestinian territories between the Sinai Peninsula and the Gaza Strip, along the Egyptian border with the Strip, and extends from the Mediterranean Sea in the north to the Kerem Shalom crossing in the south, where the borders between Egypt, the Gaza Strip, and the occupying state of Israel meet.
It is noteworthy that Israel has been waging a devastating aggression on Gaza since October 7, which has so far resulted in the deaths of more than 40,000 martyrs, most of whom are women and children, in addition to the destruction of infrastructure, vital facilities and residential neighborhoods, and the displacement and starvation of the population.