CAIRO: Egypt’s army chief of staff Lt. Gen. Ahmed Fathy Khalifa made a surprise visit to the country’s border with the Gaza Strip to inspect the security situation, the state media reported.
The visit comes after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday said that Israel would only agree to a permanent truce in Gaza which ensures that the border area between southern Gaza and Egypt will never be used by Hamas.
The Philadelphi corridor, along the southern edge of the Gaza Strip bordering Egypt, has been one of the main hurdles to a deal to halt the war in Gaza and bring Israeli hostages home in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.
According to Gaza Health Ministry the Israeli relentless bombardment on Gaza, now in its 335th day, has killed at least 40,861 Palestinians, mostly women and children. The bombardment has also injured over 94,398 others, with thousands more believed to be buried under the debris of bombed homes.
