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.



US Targets Houthis with Fresh Sanctions Action

Houthi members ride a pick-up truck while on patrol amid tensions with Israel, in Sanaa, Yemen, 18 July 2025. (EPA)
Houthi members ride a pick-up truck while on patrol amid tensions with Israel, in Sanaa, Yemen, 18 July 2025. (EPA)
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US Targets Houthis with Fresh Sanctions Action

Houthi members ride a pick-up truck while on patrol amid tensions with Israel, in Sanaa, Yemen, 18 July 2025. (EPA)
Houthi members ride a pick-up truck while on patrol amid tensions with Israel, in Sanaa, Yemen, 18 July 2025. (EPA)

The United States on Tuesday imposed sanctions on what it said was a Houthi-linked petroleum smuggling and sanctions evasion network across Yemen and the United Arab Emirates in fresh action targeting the Iran-backed militant group.

The US Treasury Department in a statement said the two individuals and five entities sanctioned on Tuesday were among the most significant importers of petroleum products and money launderers that benefit the Houthis.

"The Houthis collaborate with opportunistic businessmen to reap enormous profits from the importation of petroleum products and to enable the group’s access to the international financial system," said Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Michael Faulkender.

"These networks of shady businesses underpin the Houthis’ terrorist machine, and Treasury will use all tools at its disposal to disrupt these schemes."

Among those targeted on Tuesday was Muhammad Al-Sunaydar, who the Treasury said manages a network of petroleum companies between Yemen and the United Arab Emirates and was one of the most prominent petroleum importers in Yemen.

Three companies in his network were also designated, with the Treasury saying they coordinated the delivery of approximately $12 million dollars’ worth of Iranian petroleum products with a US-designated company to the Houthis.

Since Israel's war in Gaza against the Palestinian group Hamas began in October 2023, the Iran-aligned Houthis have been attacking vessels in the Red Sea in what they say are acts of solidarity with the Palestinians.

In January, Trump re-designated the Houthi movement as a foreign terrorist organization, aiming to impose harsher economic penalties in response to its attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea and against US warships defending the critical maritime area.

In May, the United States announced a surprise deal with the Houthis where it agreed to stop a bombing campaign against them in return for an end to shipping attacks, though the Houthis said the deal did not include sparing Israel.

The Israeli military attacked Houthi targets in Yemen's Hodeidah port on Monday in its latest assault on the militants, who have been striking ships bound for Israel and launching missiles against it.