Egypt to host talks with Israel, US over Rafah crossing

Egypt will host Israeli and US officials on Sunday to discuss the reopening of the Rafah crossing, a vital conduit for aid into Gaza, a state-linked news outlet reported.

Al-Qahera News, which has links to Egyptian intelligence, quoted a senior official it did not identify as saying Cairo was demanding "a total Israeli withdrawal" from the terminal on Gaza's southern border with Egypt.

"An Egyptian-American-Israeli meeting is scheduled for tomorrow (Sunday) in Cairo to discuss the reopening of the Rafah crossing", the official said.

The crossing has been closed since Israeli forces seized its Palestinian side in early May, reducing aid flows into the war-torn territory to a trickle.

Since then, Egypt and Israel have blamed each other for the blocking of aid deliveries through Rafah. The Egyptian authorities have refused to coordinate with the Israelis, preferring to work with international or Palestinian bodies.

After talks with US President Joe Biden last month, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi agreed to temporarily divert UN aid to the Kerem Shalom crossing, near Rafah but on Gaza's border with Israel.

Biden on Friday revealed a three-phase plan for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip proposed by Israel, saying it was "time for this war to end".

The official quoted by Al-Qahera said that Egypt was undertaking "intensive efforts" to "resume negotiations" for a truce "in light of the recent American proposal".

Later on Saturday, the Egyptian foreign ministry said Cairo's top diplomat Sameh Shoukry spoke over the phone with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

They discussed "the American president's proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza, as well as mediation efforts" led by Egypt, the United States and Qatar, the ministry said in a statement.

Shoukry told Blinken that Egypt supported "any effort aimed at ending the Israeli war against the Gaza Strip", and securing "an immediate and permanent ceasefire" and a hostage-prisoner exchange.

According to the statement, the Egyptian foreign minister also sought assurances that humanitarian relief would reach Palestinians "without obstacles" and urged "the opening of all land crossing points between Israel and Gaza to transport aid".