Satellite photos show Egypt building a wall near Gaza Strip as Israeli offensive on Rafah looms
ABC News
Egypt is building a wall and is leveling land near its border with the Gaza Strip ahead of a planned Israeli offensive targeting the border city of Rafah
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- Egypt is building a wall and is leveling land near its border with the Gaza Strip ahead of a planned Israeli offensive targeting the border city of Rafah, satellite images analyzed Friday by The Associated Press show.
Egypt, which has not publicly acknowledged the construction, repeatedly has warned Israel not to forcibly expel the over 1 million Palestinians now displaced in Rafah across the border into its territory while it battles the militant group Hamas for a fifth month.
However, the preparations on the Egyptian side of the border in the Sinai Peninsula suggest Cairo is preparing for just that scenario, something that could threatened its 1979 peace deal with Israel that's been a linchpin for regional security.
The Egyptian government did not respond to requests for comment Friday from the AP. The Egyptian Foreign Ministry on Feb. 11 issued a statement warning Israel over its possible Rafah offensive and its “displacement of the Palestinian people.”
The satellite images, taken Thursday by Maxar Technologies, show construction ongoing on the wall, which sits along the Sheikh Zuweid-Rafah Road some 3.5 kilometers (2 miles) west of the border with Gaza. The images show cranes, trucks and what appear to be precast concrete barriers being set up along the road.
