Egypt has shown willingness to participate in a joint Arab task force operating in the Gaza Strip under UN auspices for a limited period, provided that the IDF withdraws from the territory, Qatari newspaper the New Arab reported Wednesday morning.
The report stated that this offer was made during a meeting last week in Bahrain between IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, U.S. Central Command Commander Gen. Michael Kurilla and representatives from the armed forces of Egypt, Jordan, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. The discussions centered on three key issues: ending the war in Gaza, preparing for potential Iranian attacks and restoring calm to the Red Sea.
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Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
(Photo: REUTERS/Mohammed Salem, Christophe Ena / POOL / AFP, Dana Kopel)
A diplomatic source revealed that a trilateral meeting took place on the sidelines between Halevi, Kurilla and Egyptian Chief of Staff Osama Askar, where Askar expressed Egypt’s readiness to join the task force under the stipulated conditions.
Egypt has played a critical role during the ongoing war in Gaza, balancing humanitarian efforts with diplomatic mediation. The Rafah border crossing, controlled by Egypt, has been intermittently opened to facilitate the passage of medical supplies, aid and the evacuation of the wounded from Gaza. However, since the IDF captured the strategic point of entry to Gaza's south in early May, Cairo has been refusing to coordinate with Israel on the provision of aid through it.
The IDF's operations along Egypt's border, namely the seizing of the Philadelphi Corridor, have raised tensions between the two neighbors. Egyptian authorities have also voiced concerns over Israeli military operations in Gaza causing significant civilian casualties.