Egyptian official: Cairo warned Israel, US that Rafah operation puts peace treaty at high risk

A senior Egyptian official tells The Associated Press that Cairo has lodged protests with Israel, the United States and European governments, saying the Rafah operation has put its peace treaty with Israel — a cornerstone of regional stability — at high risk.

The official is not authorized to brief media and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Yesterday, the Israeli military began calling on Palestinians in additional neighborhoods of Rafah to evacuate the area, as it pressed on with an operation against the Hamas terror group in the city in the southern Gaza Strip.

The Wall Street Journal reported in February that Egyptian officials had warned the decades-long peace treaty between Egypt and Israel could be suspended if Israel Defense Forces’ troops were to enter Rafah, or if any of Rafah’s refugees are forced southward into the Sinai Peninsula.

In an effort to forestall a massive influx of refugees, Egypt has stationed tanks near its border with Gaza, after reinforcing the border wall since the beginning of the war between Israel and Hamas, both structurally and with surveillance equipment.