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. 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. 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.

Source: Wall Street Journal January 14, 2024 07:11 UTC