An Israeli official has confirmed to The Tower that Egypt had received permission from Israel ahead of time before launching its current military campaign in the Sinai Peninsula.

Cairo has poured troops, artillery, and armored vehicles into the territory in response to the kidnapping of seven Egyptian security forces. There had been concerns that Egyptian authorities were brushing aside the country’s obligations under the Camp David Accords to limit deployments in the area. The Egyptian army has previously deployed military assets to the Sinai in violation of the peace treaty.

Meanwhile Egyptian warplanes have been targeting terrorist cells. Special forces are also operating on the ground. One armed man has been killed and three have been wounded.

Egypt’s official MENA news outlet declared that the groups responsible for the kidnapping were trained in the Gaza Strip. The kidnappers also allegedly received weapons from Hamas and other terrorist groups operating in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. Egyptian security officials have been locked in a cold war with the Iran-backed terrorist group, and have sought to link Hamas to violence in Egypt stretching back to the 2011 Arab Spring revolution.

The Rafah border crossing, which connects the Gaza Strip to the Sinai, has been closed since Friday. Protesters are blocking it. More than 2,500 Palestinians are waiting to cross.

[Photo: JewishNewsOne / YouTube]