The Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, called for the return of Israeli prisoners held in the Gaza Strip in a meeting with the head of the Egyptian General Intelligence Directorate (EGID) Abbas Kamel, as Israel and Cairo held high-level talks focused on strengthening the ceasefire with Hamas. The meeting came at a time when Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi told his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry that Israel would not allow the reconstruction of Gaza to proceed without finding a solution for the return of two civilians and the remains of two soldiers held by Hamas for the greater part of the last decade. During the meeting, Netanyahu presented Israel’s demands to return its soldiers and citizens detained in the Gaza Strip as soon as possible, and discussed with all mechanisms that would prevent Hamas from strengthening its military capabilities and prevent it from using the resources that will be directed in the future to support the residents of the Strip. For further details, click here