The Hebrew newspaper “Israel Hayom” reported that Tel Aviv is considering evacuating the residents of Rafah to the northern part of the Gaza Strip before a possible attack on the city. However, the newspaper stated, citing sources, that such a move would not take place before March.
The Israeli newspaper explained that Egypt recently sent strong messages to Israel, indicating that allowing Palestinian refugees from Gaza to cross into Sinai would jeopardize the peace agreement between Egypt and Israel.
Egypt made it clear that it would not agree to the passage of refugees from Sinai to its territory.
The newspaper stated that Egypt’s concern is the potential transfer of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from Gaza to Sinai and their continued presence there. For this reason, Egypt also made it clear to Israel that it strongly opposes the expansion of the conflict to Rafah and Israel’s seizure of the Philadelphia corridor.
Currently, about 1.4 million of the approximately 2.2 million inhabitants of the Gaza Strip are concentrated in Rafah. Egypt fears that an Israeli operation in the city could lead to a mass exodus to Sinai.
Since Israel prevents Palestinians from returning to their homes in the northern part of the Strip, it effectively leaves them with no choice but to flee southward, according to the newspaper.
The newspaper quoted two Israeli sources saying that the “firm messages sent by Egypt, mixed with anger and concern, resulted from various statements by Israeli officials suggesting the expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza as a possible solution to the problem.”
Israeli Intelligence Minister Gila Gamliel recommended in an official paper she published the expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza to Sinai. In recent weeks, several similar statements were made by ministers and Knesset members, including Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who repeated the same idea on several occasions.
The newspaper notes that Egypt’s concern has two main drivers: first, the Palestinians might attempt to leave Gaza due to the unstable humanitarian situation in the enclave, and second, the Palestinians might try to flee for fear of harm in the event of war.
