CAIRO, Aug 4 (NNN-MENA) – Egypt, yesterday, demanded Israel withdraw from the Philadelphi Corridor and the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing, and halt the ongoing Israeli offensive on the besieged Gaza Strip, Egyptian sources said yesterday.
The Egyptian demands were presented yesterday, in a meeting with an Israeli security delegation visiting Cairo, for talks with the Egyptian side, on a ceasefire deal between Israel and Gaza’s Hamas.
Earlier in the day, an Israeli delegation, including heads of the Israeli Security Agency and the Israeli intelligence service, Mossad, arrived in Cairo for negotiations on a possible ceasefire deal that includes an exchange of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, according to the sources.
The Israeli army took control of the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing in May, which resulted in halting the entry of humanitarian aid trucks from Egypt into Gaza.
It is the first Israeli delegation to arrive in Egypt, after the assassination of Hamas political bureau chief, Ismail Haniyeh on Wednesday, in the Iranian capital, Tehran. Hamas accused Israel of carrying out the assassination.
Egypt, along with Qatar and the United States, is leading mediation efforts, to reach a truce and a hostage-prisoner swap deal between Israel and Hamas, with the purpose of ending up with a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.– NNN-MENA
