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On 8 July, Egypt announced it was in intensive talks with all relevant parties to end the Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip. Egypt’s ministry of defence has also set up an operations room to keep track of developments on the eastern border, according to Egyptian security sources.

“These actions aim to spare the Palestinian people from the horrors and dangers of the Israeli operation, and to hold Israel, as the occupying power, fully responsible for the safety of Palestinian civilians in accordance with the fourth Geneva Convention and international law,” stated the office of the Egyptian president.

Egypt’s intention was to “stop any provocative actions to create the necessary conditions for a prompt resumption of the peace talks, and to reach a fair and final settlement to the Palestinian question based on the two-state solution”, officials added.

These actions aim to spare the Palestinian people from the horrors and dangers of the Israeli operation – Office of the Egyptian president

For the second time during Abdul Fatah al-Sisi’s presidency, Cairo has announced its goal of establishing an independent Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital. Sisi is in frequent phone contact with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who is reportedly keeping him updated.

Witnesses in the Sinai describe the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing as being on full alert, and ready to accept casualties from Gaza. Egyptian officials have said they will allow injured Palestinians to cross the border for treatment, depending on their condition, and if requested by the Palestinian Authority. Military armoured vehicles under the watchful eye of fighter jets are active in the area, and all vehicles approaching the border are being thoroughly searched.

The Muslim Brotherhood has condemned the perceived failure of Egypt and Jordan to speak out against “the Zionist occupation’s massacre in the Gaza Strip”, arguing that the assault is taking place “amid international complicity and official regional and Arab silence”.

At the same time, residents in the town of Sheikh Zuweid in North Sinai have reported their houses shaking from the number of Israeli shells landing in the Gaza Strip. One resident told al-Araby al-Jadeed that they could easily see the shells landing in Gaza. “Even the rockets launched by the Palestinian resistance can be seen clearly by people living in Sheikh Zuweid and from the border area,” he added.

This is an edited translation from our Arabic version