Egypt warns of 'catastrophic consequences' as Rafah offensive looms
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sissi on Thursday reiterated his country’s firm stance against the displacement of Palestinians from the neighbouring Gaza Strip as Israel prepares for an impending military operation in Rafah.
Cairo is worried that a planned Israeli push into the border city of Rafah, the last remaining Hamas stronghold in Gaza, would trigger a mass exodus into Egypt's Sinai Peninsula.
“Egypt has adopted a clear stance since the first minute [of the war] totally rejecting the forced migration of Palestinians from their lands to Sinai or any other place in order to preserve the Palestinian cause from liquidation and safeguard Egypt's national security,” al-Sissi said in a televised address.
Rafah is the last holdout for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians fleeing the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, triggered by the militants’ October 7 attacks in Israel.
A military operation in Rafah, which lies in the very south of the Gaza Strip and borders Egypt, is seen as set to exacerbate the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip. Israel sees Rafah as Hamas’ last stronghold.
On Wednesday, al-Sissi warned that a military operation in Rafah will spell “catastrophic consequences” on the humanitarian situation in Gaza and on regional peace and security, according to an Egyptian presidential statement.
