CAIRO, Egypt
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi hosted Dutch caretaker Prime Minister Mark Rutte in Cairo on Wednesday.
The two leaders discussed the
Israel-Gaza war.
At a joint news conference,
el-Sissi warned Israel against launching a ground military offensive in the
southern Gaza city of Rafah.
"Egypt also warns against
the Israeli plan to launch a ground military operation in the Palestinian city
of Rafah which threatens the lives of more than a million and a half-displaced
people," he said.
Rutte commended el-Sissi on
Egypt's "indispensable logistical, humanitarian and pivotal role in this
crisis."
More than half of Gaza’s 2.3
million people are packed into Rafah, which borders Egypt.
Many fled there after
following Israeli evacuation orders that now cover two-thirds of the territory.
On Wednesday, Israel’s chief
military spokesman said civilians in Rafah would be directed toward
“humanitarian islands” that would provide temporary housing, food, water and
other necessities.
He did not say when this would
occur, nor when the Rafah offensive might begin.
Egypt has previously warned
that any movement of Palestinians into Egypt would threaten the four-decade-old
peace treaty between Israel and Egypt.
More than 31,270 Palestinians
have been killed in Gaza since the start of the war, the territory's Health
Ministry says.
Some 1,200 people, mostly
civilians, were killed in southern Israel during the Hamas-led incursion on
Oct. 7.
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