Egypt has threatened to suspend a key peace treaty with Israel should its forces move into Rafah, two Egyptian officials and a Western diplomat have told the Reuters news agency.
Fighting in the southern city could force the closure of the enclave’s main aid supply route – the Rafah crossing.
The treaty – known as the Camp David Accords – were signed in 1978 and led directly to the 1979 Egypt-Israel peace treaty.
It is not clear what exactly this would mean for Israeli-Egyptian relations, but all three officials (who wished to remain anonymous) confirmed Cairo’s threats.
With this, Egypt becomes the latest nation to warn of consequences for potential Israeli action in Rafah, which Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted will take place.
Israel says it believes four Hamas battalions are in the city – where some 1.4 million Palestinians are thought to be sheltering, many of which having fled fighting further north.
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