Egypt warns ties with Israel at risk as IDF prepares for Rafah offensive — report

Egypt has again warned Israel that any mass displacement of Palestinians into its territory would put the countries’ decades-long peace agreement and close security ties at risk.

Israel has been preparing for a massive push into Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah, the last Hamas stronghold in the Strip, where more than a million displaced Palestinians are sheltering.

The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that when Israel informed Egypt of its expansion of the ground operation into Rafah, Egyptian officials again warned them that if any Gazans were pushed into the Sinai Peninsula, “a decades-long peace treaty between the two countries would be suspended,” according to the report.

“There is limited space and great risk in putting Rafah under further military escalation due to the growing number of Palestinians there,” Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said on Saturday during a press briefing, warning that an escalation would have “dire consequences.”

Egypt has repeatedly said it will not allow an influx of Palestinians into its territory, previously warning such a scenario would “rupture” Israeli-Egyptian ties.