Click to see full-size image. (The Egyptian Armed Forces)
Chief of Staff of the Egyptian Armed Forces Lieutenant General Ahmed Fathy Khalifa inspected the security measures on the border with the Gaza Strip on September 5, according to a statement by the Egyptian military.
Lt. Gen. Khalifa stressed that the primary mission of the Egyptian armed forces is to safeguard the state’s borders in all strategic directions, adding that “the armed forces are capable of defending the borders of the homeland, generation after generation.”
He also listened to a detailed report on the coordination between various units to ensure complete control over the international border around the clock, the statement added.
In addition, the senior military commander instructed the forces on the border to remain highly vigilant and get ready for emergencies.
The visit came a day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu alleged that weapons were being smuggled to the Hamas Movement in Gaza through the Philadelphi Corridor, a 14-kilometer-long buffer zone along the border between Egypt and the Strip.
Netanyahu has insisted on Israeli military presence in Philadelphi, claiming that the corridor is a “lifeline” for Hamas to rearm.
A high-level Egyptian source responded by saying that Netanyahu was making these claims to hinder talks on a ceasefire in Gaza.
The source told the Al-Qahera News Channel that “the past few months have proven that Netanyahu does not care about the return of the Israeli hostages [in Gaza] alive as long as it conflicts with his personal goals and interests.”
“Netanyahu’s statements lack realism and aim to shift the responsibility for his failure to achieve his objectives in Gaza, which is witnessing genocide, onto other countries,” said the source. “The Israeli Prime Minister’s promotion of weapons being smuggled from Egypt through alleged tunnels under the border] is yet another lie to justify his government’s failure to control the smuggling of weapons from Israel into Gaza.”
Egypt has been working with Qatar, and the United States to broker a deal between Israel and Hamas to end the ongoing war on Gaza, which has resulted in the deaths of more than 40,000 Palestinians and 1,600 Israelis since last October. However, previous rounds of talks have failed to achieve a breakthrough, mainly due to Netanyahu’s tough stance.
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