Talk show hosts kept the spotlight on diplomacy last night after Egypt expressed its “complete rejection” of statements made by Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu in which the Israeli PM affirmed his commitment to keeping Israeli forces in the Philadelphi Corridor on the border between Egypt and Gaza.

Egypt responds to Netanyahu: In a statement issued by the Foreign Ministry yesterday, the government said that Netanyahu had “attempted to drag Egypt’s name into the matter to distract Israeli public opinion, hinder reaching a ceasefire agreement and hostage exchange, and obstruct mediation efforts being made by Egypt, Qatar, and the US.” Egypt emphasized its “total rejection of all allegations being made by Israeli officials in this matter,” adding that it holds the Israeli government responsible for the consequences of these statements “which exacerbate the situation, aim to justify aggressive and provocative policies, and lead to further escalation in the region.”

“Israeli officials have repeatedly described Netanyahu’s claims that the Philadelphi Corridor poses a threat to Israel as false, asserting that they are merely a pretext for thwarting any ceasefire agreement in Gaza,” military strategist and commentator Samir Ragheb told Sherif Amer on his program Yahduth Fi Masr (watch, runtime: 5:34). The topic received extensive coverage on other programs as well, including Ala Mas'ouleety (watch, runtime: 2:14) and El Sa’a El Sadesa (watch, runtime: 6:53).

President Abdel Fattah El Sisi’s inauguration of the Egypt International Airshow in El Alamein yesterday was also caught the attention of the talk show circuit, with advisor to the Military Academy for Postgraduate and Strategic Studies Hisham Al Halabi telling Ahmed Moussa on his program Ala Mas'ouleety that the exhibition “is expected to attract significant investments and place Egypt on the map of international exhibition tourism” (watch, runtime: 18:45). The topic was also covered by Azza Mostafa in El Sa’a El Sadesa (watch, runtime: 5:40).

And in rosier diplomatic news, the programs continued their coverage of President Abdel Fattah El Sisi’s visit to Turkey, set to begin today. Speaking to Sherif Amer on his program Yahduth Fi Masr, Turkey’s ambassador to Egypt Salih Mutlu Sen said that El Sisi’s first visit to Ankara as president is “historic and of special significance” (watch, runtime: 12:35). He added that his country is “seeking to reconcile with Egypt after a period of stagnation” in relations, noting that the Israeli assault on Gaza will be among the main topics that El Sisi and Erdogan will discuss.

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