Israel has informed Egypt of its plans to launch a military operation aimed at retaking control of the key Philadelphi corridor in the southern Gaza Strip, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday.
Citing both current and former Israeli and Egyptian officials, the report noted that the IDF operation would "likely involve removing Palestinian officials from a key crossing point and stationing Israeli forces along a stretch of land from Gaza’s southeastern corner abutting both Israel and Egypt toward the Mediterranean Sea about 12 kilometers (8 miles) to the northwest," as per the WSJ.
Any attack in the politically sensitive area of Rafah and the Philadelphi corridor would be highly charged because it borders Egypt and has diplomatic implications for Israel's relations both with Cairo and globally.
The Jerusalem Post reported last month that the IDF had steered clear of Rafah so far because of those sensitivities.
Egypt rejected Israeli proposal for oversight on buffer zone
Earlier this week, it was reported that Egypt has rejected a proposal by Israel for greater Israeli oversight over the buffer zone on the Egypt-Gaza border and is prioritizing efforts to broker a ceasefire before working on post-war arrangements.
The Egyptian sources said that during those talks Israel had approached Egypt about securing the Philadelphi Corridor, a narrow buffer zone along the border, as part of Israeli plans to prevent future attacks.
Yonah Jeremy Bob contributed to this report.