The Egyptian authorities declared Friday evening intention to extend the buffer zone along the Gaza border to cover 1500 meters.
North Sinai Governor Abdel Fattah Harhour affirmed the army’s decision to expand the buffer zone for 500 additional meters to reach 1500 meters along the Egypt-Gaza borders.
Buildings and facilities located in the area of the buffer zone have been completely surveyed in preparation for evacuation and demolition he added.
The first and second phases of the plan have been completed with each phase covering 500 meters according to him.
The buffer zone is amongst the security measures taken by the Egyptian armed forces since 2014 in order to destroy smuggling tunnels connecting North Sinai with the Gaza Strip. The tunnels were used to smuggle “terrorists and weapons” into the restive Sinai Peninsula according to Egyptian authorities.
