The humanitarian crisis in the northern Sinai Peninsula is worsening as civilians fall victim to the violence and ongoing siege imposed by Egyptian army and security forces trying to purge the area of the Islamic State (IS) and affiliated terrorists.

Many of these victims worry the government's actions will wind up actually helping the terrorists.

The government has been battling such groups there for years but upped its efforts in 2018, pledging to wrap up operations by the end of February. Yet the battles continue and civilians are suffering. The army-imposed siege enacted in February closed roads and water crossings that link northern Sinai to other Egyptian governorates. Not only is the siege restricting citizens’ movements, but it's also blocking shipments of food, medicine and fuel to 250,000 residents in the cities of Sheikh Zuwaid, Rafah and el-Arish, Sinai’s capital and largest city.

Shops in el-Arish have run out of supplies, and pharmacies have almost run out of drugs. Cars have become a rare sight on the roads because of the lack of fuel, but military vehicles are heavily deployed in the streets.