Egypt Rejects Any Displacement of Palestinians into Sinai, Says Sisi 

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (R) shakes hands with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (L) as he welcomes him for his visit to Cairo, Egypt, 18 October 2023, to discuss the escalation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the situation in Gaza. (EPA)
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (R) shakes hands with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (L) as he welcomes him for his visit to Cairo, Egypt, 18 October 2023, to discuss the escalation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the situation in Gaza. (EPA)
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Egypt Rejects Any Displacement of Palestinians into Sinai, Says Sisi 

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (R) shakes hands with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (L) as he welcomes him for his visit to Cairo, Egypt, 18 October 2023, to discuss the escalation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the situation in Gaza. (EPA)
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (R) shakes hands with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (L) as he welcomes him for his visit to Cairo, Egypt, 18 October 2023, to discuss the escalation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the situation in Gaza. (EPA)

Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said on Wednesday that Egyptians in their millions would reject the forced displacement of Palestinians into Sinai, adding that any such move would turn the peninsula into a base for attacks against Israel.

The Gaza Strip is effectively under Israeli control and Palestinians could instead be moved to Israel's Negev desert "till the militants are dealt with", Sisi told a joint news conference in Cairo with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

The border between Egypt's Sinai Peninsula and the Gaza Strip is the site of the only land crossing from the Palestinian territory that is not controlled by Israel.

Israel's unprecedented bombardment and siege of Gaza has raised fears that its 2.3 million residents could be forced southwards into Sinai.

"What is happening now in Gaza is an attempt to force civilian residents to take refugee and migrate to Egypt, which should not be accepted," said Sisi.

"Egypt rejects any attempt to resolve the Palestinian issue by military means or through the forced displacement of Palestinians from their land, which would come at the expense of the countries of the region," he said.

Sisi said the Egyptian people would "go out and protest in their millions... if called upon to do so" against any displacement of Gaza's residents to Sinai.

A blast that hit a hospital in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday evening, killing hundreds of Palestinians, has unleashed new fury across the Middle East just as US President Joe Biden arrived in Israel on Wednesday on a desperate mission to try and calm emotions.

Sisi and other Arab leaders have pulled out of a planned meeting with Biden in protest over the blast and what they see as Washington's pro-Israel bias.

Israel denied responsibility for the blast and said it was caused by a failed rocket launch by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group, which denied blame.



Influential Far-right Minister Lashes out at Netanyahu over Gaza War Policy

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich attends a Plenum session of the Knesset, Israel's Parliament, also attended by Argentine President Javier Milei (not pictured), in Jerusalem, June 11, 2025
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich attends a Plenum session of the Knesset, Israel's Parliament, also attended by Argentine President Javier Milei (not pictured), in Jerusalem, June 11, 2025
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Influential Far-right Minister Lashes out at Netanyahu over Gaza War Policy

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich attends a Plenum session of the Knesset, Israel's Parliament, also attended by Argentine President Javier Milei (not pictured), in Jerusalem, June 11, 2025
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich attends a Plenum session of the Knesset, Israel's Parliament, also attended by Argentine President Javier Milei (not pictured), in Jerusalem, June 11, 2025

Israel's far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich sharply criticized on Sunday a cabinet decision to allow some aid into Gaza as a "grave mistake" that he said would benefit the militant Palestinian group Hamas.

Smotrich also accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of failing to ensure that Israel's military is following government directives in prosecuting the war against Hamas in Gaza. He said he was considering his "next steps" but stopped short of explicitly threatening to quit the coalition, Reuters reported.

Smotrich's comments come a day before Netanyahu is due to hold talks in Washington with President Donald Trump on a US-backed proposal for a 60-day Gaza ceasefire.

"... the cabinet and the Prime Minister made a grave mistake yesterday in approving the entry of aid through a route that also benefits Hamas," Smotrich said on X, arguing that the aid would ultimately reach the Islamist group and serve as "logistical support for the enemy during wartime".

The Israeli government has not announced any changes to its aid policy in Gaza. Israeli media reported that the government had voted to allow additional aid to enter northern Gaza.

The prime minister's office did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. The military declined to comment.

Israel accuses Hamas of stealing aid for its own fighters or to sell to finance its operations, an accusation Hamas denies. Gaza is in the grip of a humanitarian catastrophe, with conditions threatening to push nearly a half a million people into famine within months, according to UN estimates.

Israel in May partially lifted a nearly three-month blockade on aid. Two Israeli officials said on June 27 the government had temporarily stopped aid from entering north Gaza.

PRESSURE

Public pressure in Israel is mounting on Netanyahu to secure a permanent ceasefire, a move opposed by some hardline members of his right-wing coalition. An Israeli team left for Qatar on Sunday for talks on a possible Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal.

Smotrich, who in January threatened to withdraw his Religious Zionism party from the government if Israel agreed to a complete end to the war before having achieved its objectives, did not mention the ceasefire in his criticism of Netanyahu.

The right-wing coalition holds a slim parliamentary majority, although some opposition lawmakers have offered to support the government from collapsing if a ceasefire is agreed.