As the Gaza war rages, Egypt fears for its stability

FROM 10M-HIGH walls and watchtowers Egypt’s soldiers look out on the war unfolding in Gaza. Over half of the coastal enclave’s population of over 2m are on the move, as Israeli tanks advance into it from the north and east and its warplanes and artillery continue their bombardment. Many Palestinians are heading towards the in search of food, electricity, water and safety.Egyptian calls for Israel to open the crossing at to allow humanitarian aid to enter have gone largely unheeded. Only 84 lorries of medicine and food have entered Gaza since the fighting began, says the Egyptian Red Cross. Meanwhile is reinforcing the border area with tanks and troops, determined to keep Palestinians out. “Palestinians and Arabs would not experience a second ,” said Ahmed Aboul-Gheit, a former Egyptian foreign minister and secretary-general of the Arab League, referring to the Palestinian exodus that accompanied Israel’s war of independence in 1948.