4/9/2024–|Last update: 4/9/202409:18 PM (Makkah Time)
The Financial Times quoted sources as saying that talks were held between Egypt and the United States – with the participation of Israeli officials – to discuss a mechanism to monitor the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt.
The British newspaper reported – in a report published today, Wednesday – that these talks aim to convince Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of the possibility of securing the borders without Israeli forces.
The Financial Times also indicated that this mechanism may include building a high-tech underground barrier on the Egyptian side.
She added that the matter also includes discussing sensor equipment to monitor the tunnels with elite Egyptian forces to prevent smuggling, and that the United States is likely to fund this mechanism, the details of which are being discussed.
The Israeli army occupied the Philadelphi (Salah al-Din) axis and the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing on the border with Egypt last May, months after the start of the war on the Gaza Strip in October 2023.
Netanyahu made keeping his army in the Philadelphi corridor a key condition among those he added to the ceasefire negotiations, as it is a main corridor for the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) to obtain supplies, according to his claims. American and Israeli officials said that these conditions are obstructing the course of the negotiations.