The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) are preparing a ground operation in the Gaza Strip with the aim to "crush and destroy" Hamas, the militant group that has ruled the Palestinian territory since 2007. Designated a terror organization by the US, Germany, the EU and other governments, Hamas receives support from the Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah, as well as Iran and Qatar.

Since terror attacks by Hamas-aligned militants killed 1,400 people within Israel on October 7, Hezbollah — which the US and Germany, as well as several Sunni Gulf Arab governments, have also designated a terrorist organization — has fired rockets into Israel from Lebanon. 

According to a video that has been viewed about 1.4 million times since October 14, Egypt has now entered the war and is also supporting Hamas.

Claim: The makers of the video claim that Egyptian tanks have entered Gaza. 

DW Fact check: Unproven

The preview image of the video, which was presumably generated by AI and shows a seemingly endless row of military vehicles bearing Egyptian flags in the desert, is juxtaposed with a picture of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu looking serious. The English title reads: "Egypt Joins the Israeli War! Hundreds of Tanks Entered Gaza! Muslim Countries Vow Revenge."

The video does not provide any evidence for the claims made in the title. The footage is described as being merely "for illustration" and — instead of showing the Egyptian army entering the conflict — it seems to comprise a string of images taken out of context. There are pictures of random troop movements, combat operations or exercises, and Netanyahu, who can be seen but never heard. Using a reverse image search, DW's fact-checking team found no link to current events.

There is no more mention of the allegation that the Egyptian military has advanced into the Gaza Strip in the video — only that the government is starting to "organize the shipment of soldiers, armored vehicles and tanks." 

The video also contradicts itself, with the voiceover at one point saying that "Egyptian citizens are organizing marches in the streets, demanding that the Egyptian army be sent to Palestine to fight against Israel" and later claiming that "the decision taken by the Cairo government soon disappointed the Egyptian people." 

An online search shows that no established media outlet has reported on plans by Egypt to join the conflict. The government has not made any statement on the matter. At the time of publication, neither the Egyptian Defense Ministry nor Foreign Ministry had responded to DW's request for comment.

It seems almost unimaginable for a secret military operation to have been conducted on the border between Egypt's Sinai Peninsula and Israel and the Gaza Strip. The numerous international news outlets and reporters on the ground would surely have picked up on it. 

The Multinational Force and Observers, an international peacekeeping force, has monitored the Sinai Peninsula since 1981 to ensure that Egypt and Israel comply with the terms of their 1979 peace treaty, which stipulates in great detail which forces are allowed to operate and in what strength in the zone. The force did not respond to DW's request for comment.

'A futile war'

As observers, including Egyptian journalist Shahira Amin, have pointed out, the terms of the 1979 peace treaty between Egypt and Israel have eased in recent years and there has been increasing security cooperation between Egypt and Israel by mutual agreement. There have even been credible reports that Israeli and Egyptian security forces have cooperated in a war against terrorism in the Sinai Peninsula, conducting airstrikes against jihadi targets in Egypt.

Experts say there are several reasons why is is unlikely that Egypt would get involved in the conflict between Israel and Hamas. "I don't believe that Egypt would sacrifice the peace treaty with Israel for Hamas in the Gaza Strip, which it has blockaded alongside Israel for all these years," said Eckart Woertz, director of the Hamburg-based GIGA Institute of Middle East Studies.

Jeannie Sowers, chair of the Political Science and International Affairs Department at the University of New Hampshire, agreed that it was an improbable scenario, and that Egypt had "neither the military preparedness nor the economic footing to do so."

"Egypt does not support Hamas and sees it as an offshoot from the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, which [Egyptian President Abdel Fattah] El-Sissi's government has repressed since taking power first in a military coup and then through (not fair or transparent) elections."

She added that the "majority of Egyptians, like the majority of Palestinians for that matter, do not support Hamas or attacks on civilians and the taking of hostages."

Woertz said there are "major sympathies in the Egyptian population for Palestinians," but said "no government would risk a futile war for that."

The claim that Egypt has intervened in the war between Israel and Hamas is not only unsubstantiated but also very implausible.

Various media outlets have, however, reported that Egypt had reinforced its military presence on the border with Gaza to protect against an uncontrolled influx of Palestinian refugees.

Mahmoud Hussein and Silja Thoms contributed to this fact check, which was originally published in German.