Egypt had begun building an area at the Gaza border that might house Palestinians in the event that an Israeli onslaught on Rafah spurs an evacuation across the boundary, adding that this was a contingency plan, according to sources who spoke to Reuters.
There have been multiple occasions when Egypt has expressed concern on the likelihood that Israel’s offensive in Gaza could result in the displacement of Palestinians into Sinai. Cairo has stated that this would be an undesirable situation.
“There is no basis in truth,” the head of Egypt’s State Information Service remarked in response to the accounts provided by the sources.
The United States of America has stated on multiple occasions that it would be opposed to any attempt to relocate Palestinians out of Gaza.
According to statements made by the Israeli government, the offensive is intended to eliminate Hamas rather than to expel Palestinians. According to statements made by Israel Katz, Israel’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Tel Aviv has no intention of deporting Palestinians from Gaza and will find a method to avoid causing harm to Egypt’s interests. However, a large number of Israeli officials and community leaders have recently campaigned for the relocation of Palestinians to areas outside of Gaza.
Reuters reached out to two Israeli officials on Friday, but they declined to comment on the report that they had received regarding Egypt’s contingency plan.
Both the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times have subsequently confirmed the revelations. The Wall Street Journal stated that Egyptian authorities are constructing an eight-square-mile walled enclosure in the Sinai Desert near the border. This is because they are concerned that an Israeli military push further into southern Gaza will result in a flood of refugees.
A woman named Um Zaki, who is currently residing in a tent near Rafah, stated that she and her five children had nowhere else to go because they had previously fled twice.
“Perhaps they will force us into Sinai by sending the tanks in,” the 49-year-old man said over the phone to Reuters. “Some people will not think twice and will climb the wall to save their lives and their children, and no one should blame them for doing so.” What I am afraid of is not this. Will there be a deal at the very last minute to save Rafah and save the Gaza Strip? I am afraid that it will be a second Nakba, and that we will not be able to return to Gaza. In 1948, Arab countries assured our parents in Jaffa and elsewhere that it would be a matter of days before they returned, and here we are, 75 years after they were displaced. I can only pray that the miracle takes place.
Israel has stated that it is necessary to enter Rafah in order to eliminate the “last bastion” of Hamas.
According to the health officials in Gaza, the Israeli offensive that was carried out in response has resulted in the death of more than 28,000 Palestinians and has caused complete destruction of large portions of the Gaza Strip.
The High Commissioner for Refugees of the United Nations stated today that it would be a catastrophe if refugees from Rafah were to cross over into Egypt. Additionally, Egyptian officials have made it quite apparent that Palestinians should be provided assistance within the enclave.
On the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, Filippo Grandi made the following statement: “It would be a disaster for the Palestinians… a disaster for Egypt and a disaster for the future of peace.”
Martin Griffiths, the chief of the United Nations’ Agency for International Development (UN), stated on Thursday that it was a “illusion” to believe that people in Gaza could escape to a safe area. He also warned of the prospect of Palestinians spilling over into Egypt in the event that Israel conducts a military assault in Rafah.
He referred to this situation as “a kind of Egyptian nightmare.”
