Finding an answer lies in Egypt’s own challenges, and whether a nation with its own serious security problems and economic problems can be enough of a safe haven for others.
Egypt has, along with Israel, blockaded Gaza on and off for 16 years, containing the enclave’s largely Muslim population while Cairo deals with its own insurgent threat in the area.
Poverty and social-economic distress in Gaza were already serious problems before this war, with more than two million people crowded into one of the most densely populated areas of the world.
Egypt has no love lost for Hamas, the Palestinian movement that is an offshoot of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood.
The Egyptian authorities have had a fractured relationship with the Brotherhood since its founding in 1928, including several serious and violent confrontations.
Persons:
Israel, —, Anwar Sadat, Ayman al
Organizations:
Embassy, Hamas
Locations:
Gaza, Egypt, Cairo, Israel, U.S, Al Qaeda, Sinai, Qatar, Turkey, Germany, Rafah