A senior Egyptian official closely involved in the ceasefire and hostage negotiations in Cairo clarified on Friday in a conversation with Ynet, "We won’t agree to an Israeli military presence along the Philadelphi Corridor. This has been our stance from the start of the negotiations, and we have no intention of changing it."
However, the official added, "I won’t comment on the introduction of Israeli surveillance and monitoring equipment along the route." This indicates that the Egyptian official in Cairo declined to clarify whether Egypt might silently approve the establishment of electronic devices for Israeli monitoring along the route.
His comments follow the decision by the security cabinet overnight Thursday that the IDF would remain on the Philadelphi Route, as part of a possible deal for the release of hostages.
The Egyptian official told Ynet that Egyptian security forces had "sealed most of the tunnels under the buffer zone with water and flooded them with concrete to prevent the smuggling of weapons, goods, and spare parts."
"I’m aware of the Israeli complaints saying not all the tunnels have been sealed, hence the need for an Israeli military presence in the area. This is unacceptable to Egypt, just as it would be unacceptable for Israel to have a presence at the Rafah Crossing," the senior official stressed.
The official stressed that Egypt's leadership firmly rejects the persistent Israeli efforts and wouldn’t agree to IDF soldiers or any Israeli authority arriving with "boots on the ground" along the Philadelphi Corridor.
(Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)