Construction along Egypt-Gaza border appears to show Cairo building wall ahead of Israeli offensive, satellite images show

ABC / AP | 17 February 2024

Israel has also got the plans, materials and people to start the first settlement in Northern Gaza – plans that have been in place for some years – this war is not an accident – Mark

This satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows earth grading activity on February 10. (AP: Maxar Technologies )

Egypt is levelling land and building a wall near its border with Gaza ahead of a planned Israeli offensive on Rafah, satellite images analysed by the Associated Press have shown.
Egypt has not publicly acknowledged the construction but has repeatedly warned Israel not to forcibly expel the more than one million displaced Palestinians now in Rafah into its territory.
Israel’s defence minister said Israel has “no intention” of pushing Palestinian civilians across the border into Egypt.
However, preparations on the Egyptian side of the border in the Sinai Peninsula suggested Cairo was preparing for such a mass ejection.
The scenario could threaten a 1979 peace deal with Israel that has been a linchpin for regional security.
The Egyptian government did not respond to requests for comment on Friday from the AP.
The Egyptian Foreign Ministry issued a statement on February 11 warning Israel about the possible Rafah offensive and its “displacement of the Palestinian people”.
The satellite images, taken by Maxar Technologies on February 15, showed ongoing construction on the wall, which sits along the Sheikh Zuweid-Rafah Road some 3.5 kilometres west of the border with Gaza.
The images showed cranes, trucks and what appeared to be precast concrete barriers being set up along the road.
Those satellite images corresponded to features seen in a video released by the London-based Sinai Foundation for Human Rights on February 12.