Palestinians in Gaza followed the bloody attacks in the Sinai Peninsula on July 1 with great concern when dozens of Islamic State (IS)-affiliated militants, known as Wilayat Sinai, attacked Egyptian military sites. Armed clashes between the two sides lasted several hours, and dozens were killed and wounded on both sides.
South of the Gaza Strip in Rafah, residents’ fears were voiced by Jihad al-Rai, who stressed that he and his fellow citizens fear that “these attacks would negatively affect the nascent improvement of the relationship between Hamas and Egypt and that the events in Sinai would extend to Gaza, since the residents of the Gaza Strip heard sounds of shells and gunfire exchanged between the Egyptian army and the militants on July 1.”
