Egypt has begun the second stage of its creation of a buffer zone between the Sinai Peninsula and the Gaza Strip, with plans to evict hundreds of families from their homes.

The current zone is already being expanded from 500 meters to a kilometer, with the destruction of about 1,200 homes on the Egyptian side of Rafah, a city straddling the Gaza border. The second stage will expand the zone to between 1,500 and 2,000 meters with the movement of the families from the area.

The displaced will initially go to the Sinai Peninsula city of El-Arish then to New Rafah, a suburb to be built next to Rafah, and New Ismailiya near the existing city on the banks of the Suez Canal.

Egypt is expanding the buffer zones after a rise in violence and insurgency in the northern Sinai Peninsula. The fundamentalist Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis group has killed dozens of Egyptian security forces, prompting Cairo to send 16 to 17 battalions with commando, armored, and infantry units into the Sinai.

Cairo claims that the military intervention, alongside widespread detentions, have sharply reduced the “terrorism”, with remaining activity concentrated in the northeastern corner of the peninsula in Rafah and Sheikh Zaid. Egyptian officials allege that many of the insurgents have been trained in Gaza and are receiving weapons from the territory.

On Monday, Egyptian media claimed that an insurgent cell, assisted by the Gazan leadership of Hamas, had tried to infiltrate Sinai through tunnels.