Egypt threatens to suspend its peace treaty with Israel if Israeli troops are sent to the densely populated border town of Rafah, where fighting could force the closure of the besieged territory’s main aid supply route, according to reports. responsible.
Egypt’s threat to suspend the Camp David Accords, a cornerstone of regional stability for nearly half a century, emerged after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said sending troops to Rafah was necessary to win the four-month war against the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
More than half of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents have fled to Rafah to escape fighting in other areas, and they are crammed into sprawling tent camps and U.N.-run shelters near the border. . Egypt fears a massive influx of hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees who may never be allowed to return.
A critical humanitarian situation
The standoff between Israel and Egypt, two close U.S. allies, took shape as aid groups warned that an offensive in Rafah would worsen the already dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, where about 80 percent of residents have fled their homes and where, according to the UN, a quarter of the population risks dying of starvation.
Hamas’s Al-Aqsa TV channel quoted an unnamed Hamas official as saying that any invasion of Rafah would “explode” the talks being mediated by the United States, Egypt and Qatar. a ceasefire and the release of Israeli hostages.
During an interview on ABC News “This Week with George Stephanopoulos“, Mr Netanyahu suggested that civilians in Rafah could flee to the north, saying there is “lots of areas” which were cleared by the army. He added that Israel was developing a “detailed plan” to relocate them.
But the Israeli offensive has caused widespread destruction, particularly in northern Gaza, and heavy fighting is still taking place in central Gaza and the southern town of Khan Younis. In Gaza City on Sunday, the last residents covered decomposing bodies in the streets or carried bodies to graves. Some streets were littered with sand from the bombings. Smoke was billowing from the destroyed buildings.
A ground operation in Rafah could cut off one of the only routes to the food and medical supplies that Gaza sorely needs.
The three officials confirmed Egypt’s threats, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief journalists on the sensitive negotiations. Qatar, Saudi Arabia and other countries have also warned of serious repercussions for Israel’s entry into Rafah.
“An Israeli offensive on Rafah would lead to an indescribable humanitarian catastrophe and serious tensions with Egypt“, wrote the head of foreign policy of the European Union, Josep Borrell, on X.
The White House warns its Israeli ally
The White House, which has shielded Israel from international calls for a ceasefire, also warned against a ground operation in Rafah under the current circumstances, saying it would be a “disaster” for civilians.
Israel and Egypt fought five wars before signing the Camp David Accords, a historic peace treaty negotiated by then-U.S. President Jimmy Carter in the late 1970s. The treaty includes several provisions governing the deployment of forces on both sides of the border.
Egypt has heavily fortified its border with Gaza, demarcating a 5-kilometer buffer zone and erecting concrete walls above and below ground. She denied Israeli allegations that Hamas operates smuggling tunnels under the border, saying Egyptian forces exercise full control on their side.
Egyptian authorities fear that if the border is breached, the army will not be able to stop a tide of people fleeing to the Sinai Peninsula.
According to the United Nations, Rafah, which normally shelters fewer than 300,000 people, now hosts 1.4 million more who have fled fighting elsewhere, and it is “severely overcrowded“Mr. Netanayahu said Hamas still had four battalions there.”Those who say that under no circumstances should enter Rafah are in fact saying that we must lose the war and keep Hamas there.” he told ABC News.
Israel has ordered much of Gaza’s population to flee south, with evacuation orders covering two-thirds of the territory, even as it regularly carries out airstrikes in all areas, including Rafah. In recent days, airstrikes on the city have killed dozens of Palestinians, including women and children.
28,176 Palestinians killed
Gaza’s Health Ministry said Sunday that the bodies of 112 people killed in the territory had been brought to hospitals in the past 24 hours, along with those of 173 injured people.
These deaths bring the death toll in the Gaza Strip since the start of the war to 28,176. The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants, but says most of those killed were women and children.
The war began with Hamas’s attack on southern Israel on October 7, when Palestinian militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapped about 250. More than 100 hostages were freed in November during a week-long ceasefire in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners.
Some of the remaining hostages died. Hamas said it would not release more until Israel ends its offensive and withdraws from Gaza. He also demanded the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, including high-ranking activists serving life sentences.
Mr Netanyahu ruled out both demands, saying Israel would fight until the end.total victory” and the return of all the hostages.