Israel has asked Egypt for clarifications about the health status of its soldiers who are being held in the besieged Gaza Strip as prisoners of war.

According to Israel’s Walla news site, Palestinian sources said today that Egypt contacted officials in the Gaza Strip last night regarding the conditions of the Israeli prisoners, after the Al-Qassam Brigades announced that the health of one of the prisoners had deteriorated yesterday.

The sources indicated that the request was referred by senior Israeli officials to the Egyptian intelligence chiefs responsible for the file of prisoners of war and missing persons between Israel and Palestinian factions.

They added that Israel had asked Egypt to try to obtain credible details from Hamas regarding the fate of the Israeli prisoners in Gaza, and to see if there was any progress in closing the issue that has been pending since 2014.