Egypt readying for 3rd phase of building Gaza buffer zone

Egyptian security forces are close to completing the second stage of a buffer zone between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, according to a report in Al-Masry Al-Youm, an Egyptian newspaper.

The buffer zone aims to eliminate the numerous cross-border smuggling tunnels. A security official in the northern Sinai tells the paper that the tunnels, which extend more than 2 kilometers from the border into the peninsula, “are dangerous because they are technically equipped.”

The tunnels are equipped with phone lines and other means of communications used by armed groups, the official says.

In the second stage of the buffer zone, more than 1,150 out of a total of 1,220 houses near the border with Gaza were reportedly destroyed. Even more homes will be demolished during construction of the third phase, which will further expand the buffer zone.

“The government will definitely expand the area of the buffer zone to start the third phase, which includes an additional 1,000 meters, in order to guarantee the destruction of the border tunnels and prevent armed groups from using them for attacks against police and military,” Al MAsry al-Youm quotes the official as saying.