Exclusive: Egypt agrees to Israeli control of Gaza border in return for Rafah reopening

Egypt and Israel have reached an understanding that would allow an Israeli security presence along the Egyptian-Gaza border in exchange for the Rafah crossing being reopened and operated by Palestinians, three senior Egyptian sources told Middle East Eye.

According to an Egyptian diplomat, an official at the General Intelligence Service and another at the Military Intelligence, Israel presented two options for the border area, known as the Philadelphi Corridor.

One is for Israel to maintain boots on the ground, as it has since its military pushed into the area in May.

The second would be to replace the troops with an underground barrier, electronic monitoring equipment and occasional patrols.

Egypt said it would agree to the options if the Palestinian factions, particularly Hamas, were on board.

However, Hamas, which is currently battling Israel in the Gaza Strip, insists it will not agree to any ceasefire deal that does not ensure the Israelis totally withdraw from the enclave, including the Philadelphi Corridor.

Sources close to Hamas told MEE they were not aware of what Israel and Egypt had agreed, but such a deal would not be surprising or necessarily acceptable to the movement.

Read more: Egypt agrees to Israeli control of Gaza border in return for Rafah reopening