Egypt’s War against Gaza Terrorism

Photo by Marius Arnesen/wikipedia.org Egypt is constructing a security zone along Gaza’s southern border, the so-called Rafah buffer. It is a strip 14 kilometers [8.7 mi] long and about one-half kilometer [.3 mi] wide. The rapid, even ruthless, imposition of the zone is in response to an attack in Sinai that killed 33 of Egypt’s soldiers.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi claimed that “outside hands” were behind the deadly attack, and that the Egyptian military had been able to eliminate a number of the terrorists involved.

Egyptian military operations succeeded in destroying 1,500 smuggling tunnels, but the satellite photos have revealed hundreds of tunnels inside mosques in Rafah, inside bedrooms and inside stores. Initial action led to the establishment [of] the buffer zone and the speedy evacuation and demolition of 800 homes, with local residents compensated for their removal.