Egypt is expected to hand Hamas a new proposal with respect to the Philadelphi Corridor and its Rafah Crossing, a source told The Jerusalem Post on Friday after an Israeli delegation returned from Cairo.
The delegation, headed by Mossad chief David Barnea, Mossad’s David Barnea, Shin Bet’s Ronen Bar, and Major-General Eliezer Toledano, was in Cairo on Thursday to help narrow the gaps on issues relating to the critical buffer zone between Egypt and Gaza, under which Hamas had smuggled weapons into the enclave, the source explained.
Israel hopes to resolve the issue of Philadelphi before it returns on Sunday for a high-level summit on Sunday that would led by US CIA Director William Burns.
The US has described that summit as end-game talks to finalize a deal to secure the release of 109 hostages and end the ten-month Gaza war.
The Israeli delegation brought maps and proposals of how to secure that buffer zone.
Egypt, along with Hamas, would also have to agree to any proposal with regard to Philadelphi since the corridor borders its territory.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted that the IDF must maintain a presence on that border so it can prevent Hamas from rearming.
Hamas has stood firm on the need for an IDF withdrawal from Gaza.
The three-phase proposal is constructed in such a way as to allow the deal to get underway without resolving all the issues, including the question of a permanent ceasefire and a full IDF withdrawal from Gaza.
The US two weeks ago put forward a bridging proposal that Israel accepted, but Hamas initially rejected, aimed at closing some of the overall disagreements between the two parties, but US Secretary of State Antony Blinken explained when he was in the region last week that it did not include all the issues in dispute.
The talks in Cairo on Thursday were very positive and constructive, the source said, explaining that it now remains to be seen what Hamas will do.
The US has hoped that a hostage deal would lead to the end of the war, a step that it hopes would prevent any reprisal attacks against Israel by Iran and its proxy Hezbollah of a scale that could spark a regional war.
Defense Yoav Gallant spoke overnight with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, just one day after US President Joe Biden spoke with Netanyahu.
“Their discussion focused primarily on joint preparation, as well as maintaining readiness and interoperability of Israeli and U.S. forces and capabilities in the face of ongoing threats posed by Iran and Hezbollah against Israel,” Gallant’s office said in a statement.
Gallant updated Austin on the IDF’s efforts to destroy smuggling tunnels under the Philadelphi Crossing, explaining that so far, 150 such tunnels have been disabled.
“Gallant emphasized the importance of ongoing operations to dismantle remaining terror infrastructure, eliminating terror operatives and destroying Hamas tunnels,” the ministry said.
The two men also discussed efforts to reach a hostage deal at length.
In Chicago, Vice President Kamala Harris, who has been involved in US efforts to secure a hostage deal, spoke about its importance when she accepted the nomination to become the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee.
“President Biden and I are working to end this war such that Israel is secure, the hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom and self-determination,” Harris said.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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