Egypt’s army destroys Sinai homes to expand Gaza buffer

The Egyptian army is bulldozing the homes of citizens in the Egyptian city of Rafah as part of a plan to build a buffer zone with the Gaza Strip, with no alternative plan to relocate the citizens who are left homeless.
An Egyptian soldier sits atop a bulldozer on the border between Egypt and southern Gaza Strip September 12, 2013. Cairo closed the Rafah crossing, Gaza's main window to the world, completely on Wednesday after assailants crashed two explosive-laden cars into a security building adjacent to the border zone, killing six Egyptian soldiers. The bulldozing of the tunnels has deepened Gaza residents' feelings of isolation in a tiny coastal territory that many have described as a prison. Egypt has suggested Palest
An Egyptian soldier sits atop a bulldozer on the border between Egypt and southern Gaza Strip, Sept. 12, 2013. - REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa
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A correspondent in Sinai

The Egyptian army began expanding its operations Oct. 4 to demolish the homes of civilians in the Egyptian city of Rafah as part of the third stage of building a border buffer zone with the Gaza Strip.

Since October 2014, the Egyptian army has worked on establishing a buffer zone along the border line with Gaza as part of the security plan to destroy tunnels used for smuggling between Gaza and the Sinai Peninsula. The Egyptian government accuses Hamas of using the tunnels to carry out terrorist operations inside Egypt.

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