A file photo of the Rafah border crossing on Egypt-Gaza border. AFP
In statements to local media on Tuesday, the Egyptian sources warned of current plans by “some parties and forces” to forcibly displace Palestinians from their land.
Such plans aim to “give [Gazans] the choice between death under Israeli bombardment or displacement outside their lands,” the sources added.
“Some parties and forces serve the occupation's plan and pave the way for it, using justifications to legitimize historically and politically corrupt arguments,” the sources stressed.
The sources warned of the repercussions of the ongoing Hamas-Israeli crisis on the struggle for Palestinians’ rights, stressing that both Egyptians and Palestinians reject the Israeli scheme to resettle Gazans.
“Egypt did and will confront this [scheme], which has also been unanimously rejected by the Palestinian people that cling to their rights and land,” the sources added.
Israel to Gazans: ‘Leave now’
The Egyptian warnings come shortly after Reuters quoted an Israeli military spokesman advising Palestinians fleeing Israeli air strikes in Gaza to head to Egypt.
“Anyone who can get out, I would advise them to get out,” said Richard Hecht, chief military spokesperson.
However, his office revised the call shortly afterward, saying in a statement that the Rafah crossing on the Sinai-Gaza border, which was open Monday, is now closed.
On Monday, Reuters quoted Egyptian security sources and a witness as saying that operations at the Rafah crossing were disrupted following an Israeli strike nearby on the Gaza side.
Israel has announced a "state of war" in retaliation for surprise attacks launched by Hamas fighters on Saturday, killing around 1,000 Israelis so far and taking dozens more captive.
On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told people in Gaza, which shares a border with Egypt, to “leave now because we will operate forcefully everywhere.”
Subsequently, Israel sealed Gaza of food, fuel, and essential supplies and launched heavy air strikes, the deadliest on the strip in 15 years.
Since the start of the fighting, Egypt has intensified contacts with world leaders as well as Palestinian and Israeli sides to end the escalation and protect Israeli and Palestinian civilians’ lives.
Egypt has warned of the impact of such fighting on the humanitarian situation in the Palestinian lands as well as on the stability and security of the region.
Cairo has also blamed the current and previous escalations on the absence of a horizon for a fair and comprehensive settlement of the Palestinian cause through the two-state solution and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.
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