Satellite images show Egypt building a wall near the Gaza Strip
Egypt is building a wall and leveling land near its border Gaza Strip Satellite images analyzed ahead of a planned Israeli attack targeting the border city of Rafah on Friday, The Associated Press show.
Egypt, which has not publicly acknowledged the construction, has repeatedly warned Israel not to forcibly expel more than 1 million Palestinians displaced in Rafah across the border into its territory, while it is in the fifth month of fighting against the militant group. Fighting with Hamas.
However, preparations on Egypt’s border in the Sinai Peninsula suggest that Cairo is preparing for that scenario, something that could jeopardize its 1979 peace accord with Israel that is a vital link to regional security. Has been.
The Egyptian government did not respond to AP requests for comment on Friday. Egyptian Foreign Ministry On 11 February a statement was issued warning Israel over its possible Rafah attack and the “displacement of the Palestinian people”.
Satellite photos taken Thursday by Maxar Technologies show ongoing construction on the wall, which is located on the Sheikh Zuwaid-Rafa road, about 3.5 kilometers (2 miles) west of the Gaza border. Pictures show cranes, trucks and pre-made concrete barriers installed along the road.
Those satellite images match features seen in a video released on February 12 by the London-based Sinai Foundation for Human Rights. The video shows a crane lifting concrete walls along the road.
“The purpose of the construction is to create a high-security gate and separation zone near the borders with the Gaza Strip in preparation for the reception of Palestinian refugees in the event of a mass exodus,” the foundation said.
Also nearby, construction crews are seen leveling and clearing the land for some unknown purpose. It can also be seen in Planet Labs PBC’s imagery of the area. The Wall Street Journal quoted unnamed Egyptian officials as saying that “an 8 square mile (20 square kilometer) walled enclosure is being built in the area, which could house more than 100,000 people.”
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Homes and farms in the area were previously destroyed during Egypt’s war on an affiliate of the Islamic State group.
Hardline officials within Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government have raised the possibility of pushing Palestinians out of the Gaza Strip, a move strongly opposed by Israel’s main ally, the United States. The Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank are lands that Palestinians hope to obtain for their future state.
The Israeli military sent questions to Netanyahu’s office regarding the Egyptian construction, to which no response was received.
An Israeli Intelligence Ministry report, prepared just six days after the Hamas attack on the Gaza Strip on October 7, included a proposal to relocate Gaza’s civilian population to tent cities, killing 1,200 and injuring more than 250. People were taken hostage. North Sinai, then building permanent cities and an undefined humanitarian corridor.
Since that time, the Israel-Hamas war has ravaged the coastal region and killed more than 28,600 people, mostly women and children, according to the health ministry in Gaza.
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