Sinai prepares for potential massive humanitarian fallout as Israel prepares escalation on Gaza

Hospitals, schools, food suppliers and gas stations in North Sinai are making preparations to deal with the massive potential humanitarian fallout from Gaza as Israel sets out plans for an escalation against Palestinians inside the besieged strip.

Preparations in North Sinai come after the Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s military wing, launched an unprecedented military operation on Saturday, breaking through the blockade on the Gaza Strip into Israeli-held territory, taking control of several settlements, killing at least 800 people, and taking dozens of people as prisoners.

The response from Israel has so far been in line with past aggressions, with the Israeli Air Force conducting air raids on the densely populated urban landscape of Gaza. At least 560 people have been killed thus far.

However, as Israel’s Zionist national rhetoric ratchets up another notch in response to the unprecedented breach in its United States-supported security infrastructure, public pronouncements that reach as high as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have been made for an even more brutal response in retaliation. On Saturday, the prime minister told Gazans to “leave” as he vowed to turn the strip “into rubble.”

On Monday, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told army commanders in the country’s south that basic provisions will be cut to the strip. “No electricity, no food, no water, no fuel” will be allowed into Gaza, Gallant said.

While Israel’s exact response is not yet clear, there is wide speculation that a ground offensive into Gaza may be forthcoming. 

Heavy artillery has been making its way to the border of the Gaza Strip since yesterday, and, on Monday, Israel said that it had called up an unprecedented 300,000 reservists. 

Israeli army deployments posted along the border with Egypt were evacuated yesterday, tribal sources and eyewitnesses told Mada Masr on condition of anonymity. 

As anticipation mounts for an escalation in Gaza, Egypt has begun taking steps to deal with the fallout from the violence. 

“Egypt fears a humanitarian catastrophe that we would not know how to deal with,” said a government source working on Palestinian affairs who spoke to Mada Masr on condition of anonymity. Egypt is preparing tons of aid to be sent to the Gaza Strip in case the humanitarian situation worsens, the source said.

At the governorate level, preparations are being coordinated by Governor Mohamed Abdel Fadel Shousha, who held a crisis management meeting on Sunday with the directorates of the health, supply, social solidarity and housing ministries. 

According to a statement put out by the governorate, Shousha gave instructions for responsible officials to inventory resources at state-run mills, public and private bakeries, markets and fuel stations, as well as capacity at schools, residential units and vacant lands to be designated as humanitarian shelters if necessary. Shousha also said that a site should be designated to administer humanitarian aid and relief shipments arriving to the governorate in order for it to enter Gaza via Rafah. 

North Sinai’s hospitals, health units, emergency rooms and ambulance facilities have also been placed on alert to receive the injured from Gaza.

While the government source told Mada Masr that the government has issued a security alert on its borders with Gaza as it does not want its borders to be breached, preparations are being made in case that eventuality comes to pass.

At Sunday’s crisis management meeting, those in attendance discussed a plan that would see tents set up in the two Egyptian cities closest to Gaza — Sheikh Zuwayed and Rafah — and to identify government buildings, such as schools or service headquarters, that can act as temporary shelters, said an official source in the North Sinai Governorate General Office who spoke to Mada Masr on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak to the media. Each tent would contain mattresses, blankets, and food supplies, water and meals would be provided and medical service points set up in the vicinity.

The plan, the source continued, is to be implemented if the president’s office gives instructions to do so, said the source. Instructions from the president’s office also stated that if the president tells North Sinai to implement the plan to put up shelters, the Armed Forces are to enclose the tents with cordons and Palestinians should not enter the walled city of Arish.

Heavy military equipment was deployed to Rafah by Egypt’s Armed Forces on Saturday night, according to eyewitnesses in the area.

Diplomatically, while Egypt has played a role in past mediation efforts, the government source told Mada Masr that any negotiations under Egyptian auspices would depend on the unfolding situation on the ground.

Egypt is in a similar wait-and-see situation with regard to attempts to broker a prisoner exchange, the source added, saying that such a deal could not be proposed in the coming days, and, if it does come to pass, it would mostly be focused on women and children.

While indirect negotiations between Israel and Palestine still seem far off, Egypt is set to hold a special meeting for security coordination with Israel and the United States within the coming days, according to the source, who added that Egypt is also working with Jordan, Qatar and Saudi Arabia to have a statement come out of the Arab League urging for calm.

The government is also working to secure the situation of Egyptian nationals in Gaza, whether diplomatic staff or groups working on reconstruction operations from the 2021 bombardment of Gaza, said the source. Israel is not targeting areas where the Egyptian nationals are present, and an evacuation plan is in place should Egypt decide that the situation is deteriorating rapidly, they said.