CAIRO: Egypt on Saturday 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 told Xinhua on Saturday on condition of anonymity.
The Egyptian demands were presented on Saturday in a meeting with an Israeli security delegation visiting Cairo for talks with the Egyptian side on a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.
Earlier in the day, an Israeli delegation, including the 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. – Bernama, Xinhua
