Egypt weighs accepting 100,000 displaced Palestinians in exchange for US debt relief

CAIRO: Egypt is reportedly considering a deal to host up to 100,000 Palestinians displaced from the Gaza Strip in exchange for US debt relief.

Cairo was said to be on the verge of allowing Palestinians entry via the currently shuttered Rafah border crossing in return for the financial aid, Egyptian media reported, citing 21 government and diplomatic sources.

In return for hosting the Palestinians, Egypt was expected to obtain financial support and debt relief from the US as the north African nation struggles with a severe economic crisis and soaring inflation, the report said.

Egypt has not officially commented on the report or denied any such deal may be in the works.

Palestinians scramble for refuge as Israel gears up for ground assault

It came as Antony Blinken, the US Secretary of State, travelled to Cairo on Sunday as part of an emergency diplomatic tour of the region amid fears the war could spiral into a wider conflict, drawing in Iran.

He met with Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, the president of Egypt, with whom he was expected to discuss the fate of up to 600 US citizens who have been unable to leave Gaza since Israel began pounding the enclave with air and artillery strikes in response to the Hamas attack last weekend.

Cairo suspects as many as 300,000 Palestinians could seek asylum in the country’s Sinai peninsula as a result of the shelling and an anticipated ground offensive by Israel in the coastal enclave.

“We cannot allow all 300,000 to enter,” an unnamed security source said. “We will have to allow some in … but no more than 100,000 should be allowed.”

Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip in its entirety, has ruled out any deal for the evacuation of Palestinians into Egypt.

“There will be no migration from Gaza to Egypt,” Ismail Haniyeh, the group’s Doha-based leader, said on Saturday.

Israel’s government has told 1.1 million civilians in Gaza’s north to move south ahead of the expected ground offensive aimed at decimating Hamas, which killed more than 1,300 Israelis during its multi-pronged attack.