Special to WorldTribune.com

RAMALLAH — Egypt’s military is said to have drafted plans to attack
the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.

On Oct. 2, the Palestinian news agency Maan reported from Egypt that the
military had formulated a plan for an invasion of the Gaza Strip.

Maan, financed by the European Union, said the Egyptian plan identified targets around the Gaza Strip linked to the Al Qaida-aligned insurgency in the Sinai Peninsula.

“All options are still open to Egypt,” an Egyptian military source was quoted as saying.

Last month, Palestinian sources reported Egyptian air and ground attacks in the southern Gaza Strip, particularly along the 14-kilometer border with Sinai. They said Egyptian Air Force AH-64 Apache attack
helicopters were frequently entering the air space over the Hamas-controlled strip.

Maan reported that the Egyptian military has selected targets around the
Gaza cities of Khan Yunis and Rafah in any offensive. The agency said Egypt
has already conducted air strikes on smuggling tunnels and vehicles along
the Gaza side of the border.

The sources said the Gaza invasion could take place should insurgency
attacks continue in Sinai. The military has accused Hamas of aiding Al Qaida
and the ousted Muslim Brotherhood in operations against Egyptian Army and
police since the ouster of President Mohammed Morsi in July 2013. The
sources cited such groups as Army of Islam and Ansar Al Sunna and Ansar Beit
Maqdis, all said to have a presence in the Gaza Strip.

“Egyptian Army sources attributed the violence happening in the Sinai to
organizations, half of them in the Sinai and the other half in Gaza,” Maan
said.

  Ansar Al Sunna, Apache attack helicopters, Army of Islam, Khan Yunis, Rafah, Report: Egypt has drafted attack plan against insurgents in Gaza Strip, Sinai Peninsula