A Saudi report says Egypt cut security ties with Israel after the Doha strike; Middle East Eye claims Cairo foiled an Israeli plot to kill Hamas leaders, warning such action would mean war; Hamas may relocate if US guarantees. The strike targeting senior Hamas leaders in Doha, which for now appears to have failed, sparked anger from Qatar and raised questions about its role as mediator in hostage talks. On Friday evening, reports said that Egypt, the other key mediator, was also reassessing its ties with Israel.
Saudi-owned Al Arabiya reported that Egypt decided to scale back security coordination with Israel “until further notice” in response to the Doha strike. Sources cited by the network said Cairo was carrying out a “reorganization” of its security communications with Israel. At the same time, the London-based Middle East Eye reported that senior Egyptian officials claimed Cairo uncovered an Israeli plan to target Hamas leaders living in Egypt and warned Israel that such an attack would be met with force.
“According to intelligence, Israel has been planning for some time to assassinate senior Hamas leaders in Cairo, after Egypt already foiled a similar attempt during past negotiations in the city over the last two years,” a senior security official told the site, which is affiliated with Qatar and Turkey.
The official said: “Any attempt to harm the lives of Hamas leaders on Egyptian soil will be defined by Egypt as a violation of its sovereignty, and as a declaration of war by Israel — and we will not hesitate to respond.” Although no Hamas leaders are officially known to reside in Egypt, the security official said several have lived there for years, even before the war broke out. (Read More)
