Egypt Pledges ‘Decisive Response’ to Confront Palestinian Displacement

Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly speaks before parliament. (Egyptian government)
Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly speaks before parliament. (Egyptian government)
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Egypt Pledges ‘Decisive Response’ to Confront Palestinian Displacement

Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly speaks before parliament. (Egyptian government)
Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly speaks before parliament. (Egyptian government)

Egypt is committed to safeguarding its national security and considers any attempt to displace Palestinians forcibly an infringement upon its sovereignty, asserted Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly on Tuesday.

Madbouly pledged that Egypt would not hesitate to use all measures to safeguard its borders in the event of any scenario regarding the displacement of Palestinians into Egyptian territories.

Madbouly was speaking during a parliamentary general session in response to 16 interpellation requests submitted by lawmakers regarding Egypt’s efforts to prevent the forced displacement of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

He reiterated that Egypt has never closed the Rafah border crossing “even for a moment,” he said, dismissing such reports as “part of fourth-generation warfare, targeting, and undermining Egypt.”

The Rafah crossing from the Palestinian side was struck by Israel several times to prevent the evacuation of the wounded and the entry of aid, said Madbouly.

The PM also affirmed that Egypt is committed to safeguarding its national security, warning that Israeli policies will have dire regional and global consequences.

Madbouly said calls for “forced displacement” aim to “liquidate the Palestinian cause,” explaining that Egypt has so far received nine million refugees from different nationalities.

However, he added: “Allowing the entry of two million Palestinians under the current conditions would mean the permanent liquidation of the Palestinian issue, which Egypt will not accept under any circumstances.”

Since the beginning of the war on Gaza last month, Egypt has “repeatedly” affirmed its rejection of the “forced displacement” of Palestinians.

Head of the National Unionist Party MP Atef Maghawry told Asharq Al-Awsat that the Prime Minister’s remarks carry several vital messages, most notably Egypt’s right to secure its borders and defend its national security.

Speaker Hanafi Jebali stressed the parliament’s categorical rejection of coercing the Palestinians into internal displacement or forcibly displacing them outside their lands, specifically towards Egyptian territories in Sinai.

Former Foreign Minister Mohamed al-Orabi told Asharq Al-Awsat that the PM’s remarks carried “important diplomatic messages.”

He reiterated Cairo’s firm position in support of the Palestinian people, but stressed that Egypt has the right to secure its borders and defend its national security.



Israel Orders Evacuation of Area Designated as Humanitarian Zone in Gaza

 A picture taken in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip shows smoke billowing during Israeli army operations in areas east of Khan Younis city on July 26, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement. (AFP)
A picture taken in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip shows smoke billowing during Israeli army operations in areas east of Khan Younis city on July 26, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement. (AFP)
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Israel Orders Evacuation of Area Designated as Humanitarian Zone in Gaza

 A picture taken in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip shows smoke billowing during Israeli army operations in areas east of Khan Younis city on July 26, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement. (AFP)
A picture taken in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip shows smoke billowing during Israeli army operations in areas east of Khan Younis city on July 26, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement. (AFP)

Israel’s military ordered the evacuation Saturday of a crowded part of Gaza designated as a humanitarian zone, saying it is planning an operation against Hamas militants in Khan Younis, including parts of Muwasi, a makeshift tent camp where thousands are seeking refuge.

The order comes in response to rocket fire that Israel says originates from the area. It's the second evacuation issued in a week in an area designated for Palestinians fleeing other parts of Gaza. Many Palestinians have been uprooted multiple times in search of safety during Israel's punishing air and ground campaign.

On Monday, after the evacuation order, multiple Israeli airstrikes hit around Khan Younis, killing at least 70 people, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, citing figures from Nasser Hospital.

The area is part of a 60-square-kilometer (roughly 20-square-mile) “humanitarian zone” to which Israel has been telling Palestinians to flee to throughout the war. Much of the area is blanketed with tent camps that lack sanitation and medical facilities and have limited access to aid, United Nations and humanitarian groups say. About 1.8 million Palestinians are sheltering there, according to Israel's estimates. That's more than half Gaza’s pre-war population of 2.3 million.

The war in Gaza has killed more than 39,100 Palestinians, according to the territory’s Health Ministry, which doesn’t distinguish between combatants and civilians in its count. The UN estimated in February that some 17,000 children in the territory are now unaccompanied, and the number is likely to have grown since.

The war began with an assault by Hamas fighters on southern Israel on Oct. 7 that killed 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and took about 250 hostages. About 115 are still in Gaza, about a third of them believed to be dead, according to Israeli authorities.