In Egypt's Sinai region, along the border with the Gaza Strip, between the Rafah and Kerem Shalom crossings, construction machines are leveling the ground on a narrow strip of land. Satellite images, analyzed by the Associated Press on Friday, February 16, show that work is underway in this area. Cranes and trucks are visible, and concrete barriers have been erected to encircle the 20 km² area.

According to the Sinai Foundation for Human Rights NGO, which revealed the existence of this construction site on February 12, the location is intended to accommodate Palestinian refugees, should Egypt face a mass exodus from Gaza. Local contractors told the NGO that they had been commissioned to carry out the work by the company Sons of Sinai, owned by businessman Ibrahim El-Argani, who is close to the Egyptian army. The 7-meter-high walls are to be built under the supervision of military engineers and a heavy security presence.

Egyptian sources have confirmed on condition of anonymity to The Wall Street Journal that a walled enclosure with the capacity for more than 100,000 people has been set up. An Egyptian source told Le Monde that the fear of facing an influx of displaced persons in the event of an Israeli offensive on the town of Rafah was behind this decision. However, Diaa Rashwan, head of the government's communications department, denied the existence of such a project. He pointed out that Egypt is opposed to any forced displacement of Gazans on its territory due to the war between Israel and Hamas in the Palestinian enclave.

This scenario could materialize, however, if Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu follows through on his threat, made since February 7, to launch an offensive on Rafah, which has become the last refuge for over 1.4 million Gazans. "The decision to launch an offensive on Rafah has not been taken. Netanyahu wants to use it as leverage in truce negotiations with Hamas. But if there is no agreement, it will be difficult for the Israelis to avoid an offensive," said Laure Foucher, Middle East specialist at the Foundation for Strategic Research (FRS).

Cairo and Washington are urging Israel to abandon the operation, citing "disastrous consequences". They are calling for a plan to evacuate displaced persons from Rafah to the north of the enclave. On Friday, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant assured that "the State of Israel has no intention of evacuating Palestinian civilians to Egypt," nor of jeopardizing the peace agreement signed in 1978 with Cairo. The Israeli army has not, however, revealed any plans for the care of Palestinian civilians in the north of the enclave, which it has reduced to rubble.

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