The Israeli newspaper Haaretz said on Tuesday that there are understandings between Israel, Egypt and the United States stipulating that a private American security company will take over the management of the Rafah crossing after the end of Israeli military operations in the city located on the border with Egypt.
The newspaper reported that the three countries agreed on this matter, but it is not yet clear which company will manage the crossing.
The Israeli government refused to comment on this news, while US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said that he did not know anything about this issue.
It is noteworthy that the Israeli army advanced yesterday, Monday, as part of a “surprise operation” to parts of Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip, and also took control of the Rafah border crossing from the Palestinian side.
Reports stated that Israel reassured the United States and Egypt that the operation in Rafah would be limited, indicating that its only goal was to ensure that the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) would no longer control the crossing.
Tel Aviv also made clear, according to these reports, that this matter would constitute a decline for Hamas, which would not be able to impose taxes on goods coming into the Strip.