The official Israeli channel “Kan 11” revealed in its evening news yesterday, Wednesday, that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken received assurances during his meetings with the Israeli political leadership that Tel Aviv will not act in Rafah in the south of Gaza and the Philadelphia Corridor border area (Salah al-Din Axis) without full coordination with Egypt.
Netanyahu announced in his statements yesterday evening that he had issued instructions to the Israeli army to move in Rafah.
According to the Israeli channel, Blinken expressed concern about the upcoming operation in Rafah and whether civilian casualties could be minimized, stating, “There will be no operation in Rafah when there are many people there, and we are working on finding a solution to evacuate the residents.” Blinken also asked the Israeli Prime Minister to find a solution to the issue of preventing the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza through the Kerem Shalom crossing.
The evening news of “Kan 11” channel reported, “It does not seem that the operation in Rafah will be carried out in the near future, as civilians need to be evacuated first. Israel will not be able to act when 1.2 million residents of Gaza are in the area. The question is, where can the residents be evacuated to in Rafah? Because returning to the northern Gaza Strip is not something Israel desires. The second, equally complex issue, is coordination with Egypt.”
In recent days, Israel has held discussions with Egypt regarding the post-war situation in Gaza. The Israeli side was led in the talks by Shin Bet Chief Ronen Bar and the Israeli government’s activities coordinator Ghassan Alyan.
Israel considers Egypt to be the key player in the post-war period since Egypt is the only land gateway for entry and exit to Gaza, acting as a significant influencer in the Arab world.
Cairo announced late last month that any Israeli move towards occupying the Philadelphia Corridor would pose a serious and real threat to Egyptian-Israeli relations. This came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s remarks on the necessity of complete control over the corridor, stating, “The Philadelphia Corridor must be under our control, it must be closed, as any other arrangement will not guarantee the disarmament we seek.”
It is worth noting that in September 2005, after 18 months of negotiations, Egypt and Israel signed the “Philadelphia Agreement,” allowing for the presence of lightly armed Egyptian forces in the area. The agreement focused on both parties sharing responsibility for “combating hostile activities related to smuggling, infiltration, and terrorism from the territories of either state.”
