The Associated Press reported about the construction work on Friday, citing satellite photos showing ground being cleared and a wall going up.
Egyptian officials have refused to discuss the project’s purpose, but the reports suggested that it could be a “fortified buffer zone” to accommodate Gazans fleeing a major Israeli military operation planned in the Palestinian border city of Rafah.
The construction work began earlier this month, as the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) started preparations for a ground assault on Rafah, Gaza’s last refuge for civilians fleeing Tel Aviv’s war with Hamas. An estimated 1.4 million Gazans have sought shelter in Rafah since the war began in October. The IDF has leveled much of the besieged enclave as it hunts for Hamas fighters, killing nearly 29,000 people, according to an estimate by local health authorities.
Cairo has insisted that Israel not force Palestinian refugees into its territory. However, with so many civilians crammed into Rafah and Israel vowing to finish off Hamas, the Egyptian side is apparently preparing for the possibility of a humanitarian crisis that could jeopardize its 1979 peace agreement with Israel. Rafah has already been targeted by airstrikes in recent days, killing hundreds of people.
The New York Times, citing an unidentified contractor commissioned by the Egyptian military, reported that the wall will close off an area of five square kilometers in a buffer zone near Gaza’s southern border. It will be about five meters (16 feet) high.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant claimed on Friday that the IDF would not try to force Gazans into Egypt.
“We respect and value our peace agreement with Egypt, which is a cornerstone of stability in the region as well as an important partner,” he added.
Gallant’s statement came one week after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered his military to make plans for both evacuating civilians from Rafah and destroying Gaza’s last Hamas stronghold. He suggested in an ABC News interview that areas cleared out by the IDF north of Rafah could be used to shelter displaced people.
