Egypt’s foreign minister said on Saturday that although his country will deal with civilians with humanity, the displacement of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip is unacceptable.

“It is not our intention to offer safe areas or facilities, but necessarily, if that arises, we will deal with (the Palestinians) with the necessary humanity,” said Sameh Shoukry of the Munich Security Conference.

Reuters reported on Friday that Egypt is preparing an area on the border with the Gaza Strip where Palestinians could be accommodated in case Israel’s military operation in Rafah pushes civilians across the border. Sources described this move as precautionary. Egypt has repeatedly denied making such preparations.

“It’s completely hypothetical. We regularly deal with the maintenance of our borders, so I think there are jumps to conclusions about the type of activities,” Suki explained, commenting on the activities near Egypt’s border with the Gaza Strip.

Separately, the governor of North Sinai said yesterday that the Egyptian armed forces are creating a logistical zone to receive aid for Gaza. The area being created includes parking spaces for trucks, warehouses, administrative offices and hospitality areas for drivers, he explained.

Egypt has repeatedly expressed its concern that Israel’s operations in Gaza could push residents of the enclave to seek refuge in the Sinai, which Cairo – like other Arab countries – has described as completely unacceptable.