Heightening Crisis: Egypt’s Tank Deployment Amid Israeli Approval of Rafah Operation
Watan-Two Egyptian security sources revealed that Cairo has sent around 40 tanks and armored personnel carriers to northeast Sinai in the past two weeks.
This move comes amid reports from Hebrew media outlets that the Israeli army has approved a military operation in Rafah.
The Egyptian step comes before Israel’s expansion of its ground offensive in the Gaza Strip, which now includes Rafah, where most of the Strip’s residents have fled seeking safe haven.
This raises Egypt’s concerns about the possibility of forcing Palestinians to leave the territory en masse.
Egyptian Border Measures
Since the start of the Israeli war on Gaza, Egypt has erected a concrete border wall extending six meters into the ground and topped with barbed wire.
The security sources stated that Egypt has also set up sand barriers and strengthened surveillance at border deployment sites.
“رويترز” عن مصادر أمنية: مصر تعزز تواجدها الأمني على حدود غزة بنحو 40 دبابة وناقلة جند مدرعة وصلت إلى شمال شرق سيناء الأسبوعين الماضيين وسط إرهاصات هجوم بري إسرائيلي على رفح في غزة pic.twitter.com/1l6KCSun0j
— الجزيرة مصر (@AJA_Egypt) February 9, 2024
Rafah Crossing Wall
Egypt has erected a concrete border wall extending six meters into the ground and topped with barbed wire. The Egyptian General Authority for Information previously revealed details of measures taken by Egypt on its borders in response to Israeli suggestions that Hamas obtained smuggled weapons from Egypt.
The Authority added that three rows of barriers make it impossible to smuggle anything above or below ground.
Israeli Army Approves Rafah Operation
The “Yedioth Ahronoth” newspaper reported that the Israeli army has approved a military operation in Rafah.
The newspaper stated that preparations for the Rafah operation began weeks ago, and the army has already approved a plan that includes the necessity of evacuating displaced persons.
Meanwhile, the Israeli official broadcasting agency spoke of the military operation in Rafah beginning after the “broad-scale evacuation” of civilians from the city and its outskirts.
International Concerns about Rafah Operation
International concern mounts over the fate of hundreds of thousands of displaced Gaza residents who sought refuge in Rafah since Israel threatened a ground incursion into the city on the border with Egypt.
The United States has affirmed that it does not support any Israeli military operation in Rafah without due consideration for the plight of civilians.
