ALBAWABA - The Egyptian Armed Forces announced that Lieutenant General Ahmed Khalifa, Chief of Staff, unexpectedly visited Gaza to inspect security and defensive activities.
Khalifa toured the Rafah border crossing soldiers, emphasizing the military's role in defending Egypt's borders in all strategic directions. He stressed that the Egyptian Armed Forces can defend the nation's borders and that they need education, discipline, and fitness to do so.
Military housing and northeastern border security were also examined by Khalifa. He was briefed on military unit cooperation to maintain 24/7 international border control.
He praised the security forces for protecting the border and expressed leadership confidence in their fighting preparedness. Khalifa advised the troops to resist false narratives that harm Egypt's stability, citing Egypt's efforts in combatting terrorism and restoring security, notably in Sinai.
This visit followed an anonymous senior Egyptian official's criticism of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for disseminating falsehoods to mask his Gaza failures.
The person told Cairo News that the Israeli government has lost confidence domestically and internationally and that Netanyahu is lying to deflect from his failures.
The Egyptian source said that Israel had failed to stop the Kerem Shalom-Gaza arms smuggling network. This source stated that Netanyahu's assertions of guns smuggling from Egypt are an effort to rationalize his security and political failures in recent years, notably his inability to rescue hostages or win wars in Gaza and the West Bank.
The source was also frustrated by Netanyahu's failure to reach a truce, which has increased tension between Egypt and Israel.
Netanyahu again accused Egypt of aiding weapons smuggling into Gaza and reaffirmed his support for Israeli soldiers in the Philadelphi Corridor.
He warned that Israel would suffer serious repercussions if it left the corridor and that the international community would not allow a return.
Netanyahu claims there are several tunnels beneath the Philadelphi Corridor, making captives hard to free without cutting off Hamas's smuggled weaponry. He stated that corridor control is crucial to Israel's military goals.
Egypt and Israel are increasingly at odds because to Israel's refusal to negotiate a truce and Netanyahu's insistence on keeping the Philadelphi Corridor. His repeated allusions to Egypt in the war have heightened tensions.
