Egypt has discovered Israeli plots to target Hamas leaders in Cairo and has warned Israel that any attack will be responded to with force, senior Egyptian officials told Middle East Eye (MEE), APA reports.
“Intelligence reports suggest that Israel has been plotting to assassinate Hamas leaders in Cairo for some time, as Egypt had already foiled an earlier attempt during ceasefire negotiations in the city over the past two years,” a high-level security source told MEE.
On Tuesday, around 12 air strikes struck residential buildings in the Qatari capital, Doha, about 4pm local time (1pm GMT), targeting Hamas leadership, an attack that has sparked condemnations across the region.
The senior Egyptian officials’ statements to MEE came in response to threats by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Israel would target Hamas in other countries.
“Any attempt on the lives of Hamas leaders on Egyptian soil would be considered by Egypt as a violation of its sovereignty and, accordingly, a declaration of war by Israel, which we would not hesitate to retaliate against,” the security source said.