According to the sources, Cairo is preparing a refugee area along the Gaza border if an Israeli offensive into Rafah forces a Palestinian exodus across the border. These sources characterize Egypt’s preparations as a “Contingency Move.”
Egypt has frequently expressed concern that Israel’s destructive Gaza onslaught may force Palestinians into Sinai, which Cairo says would be unacceptable. Cairo has denied making such plans, repeating concerns from other Arab governments like Jordan.
The United States has stated again and again that it would not support the expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza. Egypt is creating the region at the border as a temporary and preventive measure. However, one of the individuals stated that Egypt was hopeful that discussions to negotiate a truce might prevent any such situation. Three security sources stressed that this was a preventative measure when they stated that Egypt had started setting up a desert location with some basic amenities that might be used to house Palestinians.
The sources that Reuters consulted for this report declined to be identified due to the delicate nature of the subject. Israel has said that it will launch an operation to destroy Hamas’s “last bastion” in Rafah, where more than a million Palestinians have sought safety from the organization’s destructive Gaza war.
Israel’s army is reportedly developing a plan to move Rafah’s residents to other areas of the Gaza Strip. Martin Griffiths, the head of U.N. relief efforts, said on Thursday that if Israel begins a military assault in Rafah, Palestinians will flee to Egypt, calling the idea that they might evacuate to a secure area an “Illusion.”
“A sort of Egyptian nightmare,” he described this situation as. As part of a broader Arab rejection of a repetition of the “Nakba,” or “catastrophe,” which occurred in 1948 during the conflict that resulted in the forced migration of around 700,000 Palestinians from their homes, Egypt has presented its opposition to the Palestinians’ expulsion from Gaza.
As per the first report, the camp’s construction started about three or four days ago to provide temporary refuge for individuals who cross the border “until a resolution is reached.” When questioned about the sources’ allegations, the head of Egypt’s State Information Service stated: “There is no truth to this.” According to Egypt and our Palestinian brethren, there is no planning for this scenario.
On Monday, an activist group called the Sinai Foundation for Human Rights released photos that included concrete barricades and pictures of cranes and construction vehicles in the region.
The Sinai Foundation reported that the development was meant to provide a guarded region in the event of a major Palestinian departure, citing an unnamed source. Because the buildings, trees, and fences in the region match the satellite footage, Reuters determined that the film segment that shows Rafah is located there.
Reuters could verify neither the date nor the location of the video’s filming. Pressure on Israel ties As of right now, the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees estimates that 1.5 million Palestinians, or more than half of the Gaza Strip’s population, reside in Rafah.
Israel claims that to destroy Hamas, the organization responsible for the Oct. 7 massacre that left 1,200 people dead in Israel and another 250 kidnapped, it must intensify its onslaught into Rafah. The situation of those seeking sanctuary in Rafah has drawn attention from across the world, including Israel’s Western allies, with health authorities in Hamas-run Gaza reporting that Israel’s onslaught has already claimed the lives of over 28,000 people.
U.S. President Joe Biden has informed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Israel must have a strategy in place to guarantee the protection of those seeking sanctuary in Rafah before moving forward with any operations there.
According to a spokesman for the US State Department, “The president has made it clear that we do not support the forced relocation of Palestinians from Gaza.” The United States does not finance Palestinian refugee camps in Egypt.
Netanyahu’s administration has instructed the army to devise an evacuation strategy for Rafah. Yet, as of yet, no strategy has been developed. According to Netanyahu in an interview with ABC News, they might travel to locations north of Rafah that the army has cleared.
The evacuation was “a military issue,” according to Israel’s minister of agriculture and rural development, Avi Dichter, who stated on Wednesday that the Israeli army was capable of handling it.
Dichter spoke to Israel’s Army Radio, stating there was “Enough land west of Rafah” and mentioning Al Mawasi. In this shoreline location, the Israeli military had advised inhabitants to evacuate early in the battle. The conflict in Gaza has put more strain on Egypt-Israel ties, as the two countries signed a peace agreement in 1979.
The continuance of accords with Egypt and Jordan—peace treaties with both Arab states—was jeopardized by Israeli activities, according to Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit, a former Egyptian foreign minister. Sameh Shoukry, Egypt’s foreign minister, declared on February 12 that his country had upheld the pact for forty years and would do so for as long as both parties were committed to it.
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