Egypt has denied approving the relocation of the Rafah border crossing or the construction of a new crossing near Kerem Shalom.

According to a high-level Egyptian security source speaking to Daily News Egypt, there have been no Egyptian-Israeli talks regarding the supervision of the Rafah crossing. The source emphasized that Egypt considers restoring order in Gaza after the ongoing military operation to be a Palestinian matter, and no Egyptian troops will enter Gaza.

Furthermore, Egypt reaffirms its commitment to the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Palestinian side of the crossing.

The Israeli army has been working to establish a buffer zone between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, ostensibly to “deepen its achievements” and dismantle tunnels along the Philadelphia axis on the Gaza side.

Israel’s Channel 12 reported that the buffer zone is being expanded along a 14-kilometre stretch of the Philadelphia axis to destroy tunnels and safeguard what it considers its accomplishments in Rafah, located in the southern part of the Gaza Strip.

Additionally, the channel said that Israeli plans are underway to relocate the Rafah crossing near Kerem Shalom, where the borders converge. The management of the new Rafah crossing will involve collaboration among Israelis, Egyptians, Palestinians, and Americans.

Israeli estimates suggest that the Rafah operation has reached a point where tactical withdrawal of forces is possible without compromising the gains made by the army.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health in Gaza announced, Sunday, that during the past 24 hours, the Israeli occupation forces committed 3 massacres against families in the Strip, including 43 deaths and 111 injuries to hospitals, raising the toll of the Israeli aggression since October 7 to 37,877 deaths and 86,969 injuries.

The Ministry of Health in Gaza warned that the remaining hospitals, health centres and oxygen stations would stop working within 48 hours, as a result of the exhaustion of the fuel needed to operate the generators.

On the ground, the Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Jihad Movement, said that its fighters detonated two explosive devices in advanced occupation vehicles southwest of Rafah, and bombed the support forces the moment they headed to the ambush site.

For its part, the Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), said that its fighters, in conjunction with the Al-Quds Brigades, targeted crowds of occupation army forces penetrating the Al-Shujaiya neighbourhood, east of Gaza City, with mortar shells.

Al-Qassam added that its fighters destroyed crowds of occupation army forces penetrating the Shuja’iya neighbourhood, east of Gaza City, with mortar shells, noting that they achieved direct hits. The brigades also confirmed that it bombed the occupation forces stationed in the Netzarim axis, south of Gaza City, with 107 missiles.

At the same time, the Israeli army reported that 33 soldiers were injured over the weekend, 22 of whom were wounded in the Gaza battles.