Egypt is preparing to launch a large-scale operation to dislodge jihadist elements in the Sinai Peninsula. The announcement comes after weeks of consistent attacks by gunmen on security checkpoints, police stations, and government buildings, and there may be as many as 30,000 Egyptian troops already deployed in the territory.

The identities of the gunmen which have been targeting Egyptian assets is disputed. Some are undoubtedly conducted by members of the various Salafist groups which have taken hold in the territory. The Egyptian military blames the Iran-backed Palestinian terror group Hamas for other attacks, and for violence dating back at least to the 2011 uprisings that saw the overthrow of then-president Hosni Mubarak. Gaza-based jihadists use smuggling tunnels maintained by Hamas to transit between the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip into the Egyptian-controlled Sinai.

The pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat reported that dozens of Hamas members have been killed in the peninsula in recent days. The group quickly denied the charge:

Thirty-two Hamas men were among the dead and 45 Hamas members were among those arrested, according to the London-based pan-Arab paper. Hamas sparked the fighting and is working in collaboration with Sinai-based jihadists, the source said. He admitted that the army was having difficulty controlling the situation there… The Hamas government in Gaza strongly denied the report, calling it part of a smear campaign waged by the movement’s enemies.

Last week reports emerged that the army had thwarted a “wide-scale plot” to transfer weapons to Cairo and Alexandria to carry out attacks and undermine Egypt’s army-backed interim government. Hamas has sought to untangle itself from the unrest roiling Egypt, but has been dogged by media reports to the effect that it is hoping for and advocating for a restoration of Muslim Brotherhood rule.

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