An Egyptian military official reportedly told Hezbollah-affiliated Al-Akhbar on Saturday that a potential Egyptian military action would include doubling the number of Egyptian soldiers and transferring weapons and aircraft to the Sinai Peninsula, with the source adding that it hopes to act as a "deterrent to Tel Aviv."
The military official told the source that “instructions for a plan to deal with any emergency include not shooting at any Palestinian approaching the border, and dealing with the matter exclusively according to humanitarian standards.”
The military official told the source that “instructions for a plan to deal with any emergency include not shooting at any Palestinian approaching the border, and dealing with the matter exclusively according to humanitarian standards.”
Egypt's State Information Service denied this, and claimed that the increase in soldiers in the area was to secure its border "against all threats, including terrorist operations and smuggling."
SIS also added that "Egypt is fully committed to maintaining the peace treaty with Israel, given that it has never violated any treaty or agreement throughout its history."
The source added that “displacement to the border poses a direct threat to Egyptian national security and requires a different military situation from the current one.”
Cairo, through contacts with US officials, has also expressed its “displeasure with repeated Israeli reports on allegations that drones are being used to smuggle weapons to Hamas through Egypt," Al-Akhbar quoted them as saying.
Egypt says displacement of Palestinians from Gaza City 'red line'
The Egyptian statement also mentioned the country's "absolute rejection of expanding military operations in Gaza and the displacement of Palestinians from their lands."
"It also reiterates its support for the Palestinian people's right to establish an independent state based on the two-state solution, on the lands of June 4, 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital," read the statement.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty told CNN last month that any mass displacement of Palestinians from Gaza was a “red line.”
“We will not accept it, we will not participate in it, and we will not allow it to happen,” he added in the interview.
He also added that Cairo was working with “different channels, with one objective, to alleviate the burden and suffering of Palestinians.”
Reuters contributed to this report.