Users on social media are circulating a video claiming to show Egyptian military reinforcements in Sinai. The video has spread amid growing fears of a large-scale Israeli attack in Rafah, where approximately 1.5 million Palestinians are trapped at the border with Egypt. The video depicts a convoy of tanks and military vehicles displaying Egyptian flags in what appears to be a desert area, with accompanying comments stating "Sinai now."
After four months of war between Israel and Hamas, military operations are focused in the southern Gaza Strip, notably in the city of Khan Younis, where the Israeli army has declared it is carrying out a "targeted operation" at Nasser Hospital, which houses thousands of displaced persons, as well as in Rafah. However, the claim that the video shows recent Egyptian reinforcements in Sinai is inaccurate.
A search of the video reveals that it is actually a post from months ago on social media, contradicting the suggestion that the footage represents recent reinforcements. Reuters reported, citing two Egyptian security sources a few days ago, that "Cairo sent about 40 tanks and armored personnel carriers to northeastern Sinai in the past two weeks as part of a series of measures to enhance security along its border with the Gaza Strip."
The news of troop deployment comes ahead of Israel expanding its military operations to include the city of Rafah in southern Gaza, where most of the Strip's population has sought refuge for safety, exacerbating Egypt's fears of a potential mass exodus of Palestinians from the enclave.
