Egypt is threatening to suspend a key peace treaty if Israel encroaches on Rafah on its border, officials say

Egypt fears a massive influx of hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees, who may never be allowed to return.

RAFAH, Gaza Strip: Egypt is threatening to suspend its peace treaty with Israel if Israeli troops are sent to the populous Gaza border town of Rafah, where it fears fighting could force the closure of the besieged territory's main aid route, two Egyptian officials and a Western diplomat said. Sunday.

The threat to suspend the Camp David Accords, which have been a cornerstone of regional stability for nearly half a century, came after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said sending troops to Rafah was necessary to end the four-month war against the Palestinian militant group Hamas to win. He said Hamas still has four battalions there.

More than half of Gaza's 2.3 million residents have fled to Rafah to escape fighting in other areas, crammed into sprawling tent camps and U.N.-run shelters near the border. Egypt fears a massive influx of hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees, who may never be allowed to return.

Netanyahu told Fox News Sunday that there is “plenty of space north of Rafah where they can go” after Israel's offensive elsewhere in Gaza, and said Israel would escort evacuees with “flyers, with cell phones and with safe corridors and other things .”

The standoff between Israel and Egypt, two close US allies, took shape as aid groups warned that an offensive in Rafah would worsen the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza, where around 80% of residents have fled their homes and where the UN says a a quarter of the population faces famine.

A ground operation in Rafah could cut off one of the few avenues for delivering desperately needed food and medical supplies to Gaza.

Hamas's Al-Aqsa television station quoted an unnamed Hamas official as saying that any invasion of Rafah would undermine talks between the United States, Egypt and Qatar aimed at reaching a ceasefire and the release of Israeli hostages, would “blow up”.

U.S. President Joe Biden and Netanyahu are expected to speak later Sunday, according to two administration officials with knowledge of the call who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss the president's private conversations. Biden last week called Israel's military response in Gaza “overblown.”

WHERE WOULD CITIZENS GO?

All three officials confirmed Egypt's threats, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief reporters on the sensitive negotiations. Qatar, Saudi Arabia and other countries have also warned of dire consequences if Israel enters Rafah.

“An Israeli offensive on Rafah would lead to an unspeakable humanitarian catastrophe and serious tensions with Egypt,” European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell wrote on X.

Human Rights Watch said in a statement that forced displacement is a war crime and that civilians who do not evacuate are still protected by international humanitarian law. “There is no safe place to go in Gaza,” said Nadia Hardman, a refugee and migrant rights researcher.

The White House, which has sent weapons to Israel and protected the country from international calls for a ceasefire, has also warned against a ground operation in Rafah under current conditions, saying it would be a “disaster” for the citizens.

Israel and Egypt fought five wars before signing the Camp David Accords, a historic peace treaty brokered by then-US President Jimmy Carter in the late 1970s. The treaty contains several provisions regulating the deployment of troops on both sides of the border.

Egypt has heavily fortified its border with Gaza, carving out a five-kilometer buffer zone and erecting concrete walls above and below ground. It has denied Israeli accusations that Hamas is operating smuggling tunnels under the border, saying Egyptian forces have full control on their side.

Egyptian officials fear that if the border is crossed, the army will be unable to stop a flow of people fleeing to the Sinai Peninsula.

The United Nations says Rafah, normally home to fewer than 300,000 people, is now home to 1.4 million people who have fled fighting elsewhere and is “severely overcrowded.”

In Rafah, some displaced people packed their belongings again. Rafat and Fedaa Abu Haloub, who fled Beit Lahia in the north earlier in the war, placed their belongings on the back of a truck. “We don't know where we can take him safely,” Fedaa said of their baby. “Every month we have to move, and with all the fear and missiles.”

An Israeli ground invasion of Rafah could force Palestinians in Gaza to flee to Egypt, Om Mohammad Al-Ghemry said, adding she hoped the Egyptians would “open the borders and let us flee to Sinai.”

112 BODIES TO GAZA HOSPITALS IN ONE DAY

Israel has ordered much of Gaza's population to flee south, with evacuation orders covering two-thirds of the territory, even as it carries out regular airstrikes in all areas, including Rafah. Dozens of Palestinians, including women and children, have been killed in airstrikes on the city in recent days.

The Israeli offensive has caused widespread destruction, especially in northern Gaza, and heavy fighting continues in central Gaza and the southern city of Khan Younis. In Gaza City, remaining residents on Sunday covered decomposing bodies in the streets or carried bodies to graves. Some streets were piled high with sand from bombings.

Gaza's Health Ministry said Sunday that the bodies of 112 people killed across the territory had been taken to hospitals in the past 24 hours, as well as 173 injured people. The fatalities brought the strip's death toll since the start of the war to 28,176. The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and fighters, but says most of the dead were women and children.

The war began with Hamas' attack on southern Israel on October 7, when Palestinian militants killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapped about 250. In November, more than 100 hostages were released in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners during a week-long ceasefire. . Some of the remaining hostages have died.

Hamas has said it will not release more unless Israel ends its offensive and withdraws from Gaza. The country has also demanded the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, including high-ranking militants serving life sentences.

Netanyahu has rejected both demands and says Israel will fight until “total victory” and the return of all hostages.