CAIRO — Egyptian Army Chief of Staff Ahmed Fathy Khalifa made an unannounced visit on Thursday to the country’s border with the Gaza Strip to assess the security situation.

In a military statement, Khalifa was reported to have inspected security measures along the border but provided no additional details.

During the visit, he reaffirmed the armed forces' readiness, stating, "The armed forces are capable of defending the homeland's borders, a generation after another."

The visit followed accusations from a high-level Egyptian source who claimed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was obstructing Gaza cease-fire and prisoner swap negotiations by alleging that weapons were being smuggled through the Egypt-Gaza border.

The Philadelphi Corridor, a demilitarized zone along Egypt's border with Gaza, remains a contentious issue in ongoing cease-fire and prisoner swap talks between Israel and Hamas. Netanyahu has insisted on maintaining a military presence along the corridor, describing it as a crucial supply route for Hamas to rearm, a claim Egypt vehemently denies.

Israel's continued offensive in Gaza since a Hamas attack on October 7 last year has led to the deaths of over 40,800 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured nearly 94,300, according to local health authorities. Mediation efforts by the US, Qatar, and Egypt have stalled due to Netanyahu’s refusal to agree to a cease-fire and prisoner exchange.

The ongoing blockade of Gaza has resulted in critical shortages of food, water, and medical supplies, causing severe humanitarian distress and drawing accusations of genocide against Israel at the International Court of Justice. — Agencies