Egypt Rankled by Hamas’s Burgeoning Ties to Islamic State

The Times of Israel reports: Cairo is fuming over increasing cooperation between the Palestinian terror group Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, and Islamic State-affiliated forces in the neighboring Sinai Peninsula, The Times of Israel has learned, despite attempts in recent months to alleviate the tension between Egypt and Gaza.

In an effort to curb that collaboration, Egypt has relayed to Hamas leaders that it is aware of the links between its senior activists in the Rafah border area and commanders in the Islamic State’s Sinai Province.

That cooperation has seen injured IS fighters routinely brought into the Strip for treatment, alongside ongoing weapons smuggling over the border. A few days ago, Cairo discovered that a group of IS fighters wounded during an attack on Egyptian Army soldiers – they were planting explosives on the beach at Al-Arish – were transferred to hospitals in Gaza for treatment.

Egyptian sources say they were likely smuggled into Gaza via tunnels overseen by Hamas’s military wing that facilitate the connection between the two Islamist terror groups.

Read more here.