Egypt Sinai military build-up prompts Israeli surveillance

Israel has intensified its monitoring of North Sinai after Egypt launched what sources described as an unprecedented military deployment along the border with Gaza.

Tribal sources and eyewitnesses told The New Arab's Arabic sister edition Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that the Israeli army "launched a military surveillance balloon over the Kerem Shalom area on the border with Egypt".

They explained that the balloon "can be seen with the naked eye from far inside Sinai, allowing close monitoring of all Egyptian military movements, particularly amid the intense and unprecedented deployment within the cities of Rafah, Sheikh Zuweid, and Arish".

According to the same sources, the scale of Egyptian military presence now surpasses the levels seen during the decade-long campaign against Wilayat Sinai, the local affiliate of the Islamic State group.

"The forces currently deployed are unlike anything Sinai residents have witnessed for decades," one source said.

Hundreds of vehicles and thousands of troops have been stationed across North Sinai, especially in its central and northern parts. The army has also reinstated checkpoints it had dismantled over the past two years as militant activity waned.

Entire residential blocks near the border have reportedly been closed off and converted into military zones "resembling new bases housing large numbers of troops and equipment brought in over recent weeks".

On the opposite side of the frontier, residents reported unusual Israeli activity.

They said they had seen "heavy Israeli military equipment newly deployed on the other side of the border, including tanks and armoured personnel carriers". For years, the Israeli presence was limited to "light patrols and jeeps", but recent months have seen "a noticeable increase in heavy equipment movement".

The sources also described "intensified Israeli drone activity along the border with Egypt around the clock to monitor Egyptian operations and track drones launched by the Houthis toward Israeli targets".

"Israeli helicopters supported these operations, intercepting drones before they reached occupied territory, sometimes even targeting them while they were still inside Egyptian airspace," the source added.

Colonel Hatem Saber, a security expert and specialist in counter-terrorism and information warfare, said the deployment carried multiple messages. "Egypt’s military presence in Sinai is primarily aimed at securing the borders against different threats, including terrorism and smuggling," he told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.

Domestically, it was meant to reassure Egyptians that the buildup did not represent a breach of treaties or international commitments. "It comes within the framework of protecting national security and safeguarding the borders," he said.

"The second message," Saber continued, "is for external parties, particularly Israel and the United States, making clear that any reinforcement of forces in Sinai is carried out within prior coordination with the peace treaty partners and therefore does not constitute a breach or direct threat".

He said the official stance also tied the issue to the Palestinian question by "rejecting the expansion of military operations in Gaza and rejecting scenarios of forced displacement into Sinai", while reaffirming that the two-state solution remains the only basis for "a just peace".

"These statements carry multiple messages," Saber said.

"To Israel, they send a clear warning that any attempt to pressure Egypt into reducing its military presence will fail, since the deployment is lawful and agreed upon. To the United States, they stress that while Egypt is committed to peace, it will not accept any compromise of its national security or the imposition of solutions that undermine the Palestinian cause."

"For Palestinians and the Arab world, the message is that Cairo remains steadfast in rejecting any liquidation of the Palestinian issue, supporting the rights of the Palestinian people, and refusing under any circumstances to shift Gaza’s suffering onto Egyptian soil."