Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry sharply criticized Hamas on Saturday, saying that "the organization is outside the Palestinian consensus, which recognizes Israel and wants to reach negotiations with it, because [Hamas] is not ready to give up its support for violence."
Shoukry made these comments at a press conference held at the Munich Security Conference. He also said that "we must give an account of how Hamas gained power in the Gaza Strip, and why it received financial support to increase the division between it and the other peacekeeping Palestinian factions – whether these are the Palestinian Authority, the PLO or the Palestinian public itself."
Referring to a possible IDF operation in Rafah and to the report that Egypt is building a buffer zone on its border where it could take in Palestinian refugees, the Egyptian minister said: "We have no intention of providing safe areas for the Palestinians, but if necessary, we will deal with it with the necessary humanity."
In parallel, North Sinai Governor Mohamed Abdel Fadil Shosha emphasized that the Egyptian army established the buffer zone to receive humanitarian aid for the residents of the Strip.
Egypt reportedly setting up area for Palestinians in Sinai
Last week, it was reported that Egypt began building an eight kilometer deep buffer zone on the border with the Gaza Strip, and that the Egyptian army advanced soldiers and armored vehicles toward its border out of fear of an influx of Palestinian refugees into Sinai.
According to the report, it is possible that Egypt will allow a limited entrance of no more than 60,000 people, Egyptian officials said.
However, Shosha denied the reports of the construction of a refugee camp in the Sinai territory. Palestinians who enter the closed territory will not be allowed to leave unless their destination is another country, Egyptian officials said, outlining contingency plans discussed in Cairo.
In recent days, Israel has found itself at a crossroads: Rafah remains the last stronghold of the terrorist organization in the Gaza Strip, but the international community is pressuring the Jewish state not to act there due to the high number of civilians.
Last week, the Prime Minister's Office announced that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu instructed the IDF and the security establishment to bring to the cabinet a dual plan for both the evacuation of the population and the disbanding of the battalions.
"It is impossible to achieve the war goal of eliminating Hamas [while] leaving four Hamas battalions in Rafah," the message also stated. "On the other hand, it is clear that a robust operation in Rafah requires the evacuation of the civilian population from the combat zones.”