This picture taken from Israel s southern border with the Gaza Strip shows smoke rising from the Palestinian territory on April 24, 2024. AFP
The source said that any Israeli occupation army's military presence in the border area between Egypt and Israel, known as the (D) area, constitutes a breach of the Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty signed in 1979.
The source affirmed that any Israeli breach of the peace treaty and its security annexes would be met with a decisive response from Cairo. The source also denied reports by some American media outlets about coordination between Cairo and Tel Aviv regarding an operation to invade Rafah in southern Gaza.
Earlier Wednesday, the Israeli government spokesman David Mencer told a press briefing that Israel was moving ahead with its military operation to target Hamas in Rafah.
In a telephone call with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Wednesday, Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi warned against any military operations in the Palestinian city of Rafah, which hosts over 1.5 million displaced Palestinians.
El-Sisi further pointed out that such an operation would have catastrophic repercussions on the humanitarian situation in the besieged Strip and regional peace and security.
Reports emerged over the past months that Egypt has threatened to suspend the treaty in case Israel proceeds with its Rafah invasion. The Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sameh Shoukry, later affirmed Egypt's adherence to the deal as long as Israel respects it.
The Egyptian official source confirmed that Egypt is intensifying its contacts with all parties to reach a ceasefire and a prisoner exchange agreement to end the ongoing war that has killed about 34,000 Palestinians and left tens of thousands of Palestinians either wounded or missing.
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