News, US counter-attacks in Iraq and Syria, tensions in the Middle East and more
An Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman says any Israeli military operation near the Egyptian border “poses a threat” to large numbers of people.
Men scoop water from the entrance of a school run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) to house displaced Palestinians in Rafah, southern Gaza, on February 8, 2024 (Photo by Mohammed Abed/AFP Getty Images) Through)
An Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman said this Wednesday that the Israeli ground attack on Gaza’s southernmost city, Rafah, “poses threats” and “makes possible a displacement scenario”, which Egypt rejects.
Spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid said, “There is no doubt that targeting this area of Gaza, which is filled with so many civilians, poses a threat. This is very different from if these civilians were targeted in a larger or more vast area.” Are living.” In an interview with Al-Ghad TV.
Abu Zeid did not directly answer the presenter’s question about whether Israeli actions along the Gaza-Egypt border could affect its peace treaty with Israel, but warned that these actions would pose a threat to large numbers of people. Is.
“This axis is part of Gaza, it is part of the Palestinian territories of Gaza, and any dealings with this area have been done with great care, because it is close to the Egyptian border… There are so many people there in such large numbers that The operation poses a threat to people present,” he said.
“We’re talking about an area in southern Gaza where 300,000 Palestinians lived,” Abu Zaid said. “Today there are 1.5 or 1.4 million. We are talking about an overcrowded area of civilians who live in very difficult humanitarian conditions,” he said.
An estimated one million people are crammed into a tent city in southern Gaza. Although Rafah has faced months of air attacks by Israeli forces, a planned new ground campaign raises fears of further bloodshed.
It also raises fears that crowds fleeing the war will cross into Egypt, which borders the city of Rafah, a possibility that Egypt and other countries have categorically rejected, saying Gazans Any attempt to displace is a red line that should not be crossed. ,