Hamas has deployed additional security forces along its border with Egypt, a Hamas spokesperson announced Thursday night, in an apparent attempt to appease Cairo.
“National security forces started today to increase the number of its troops and double the security bases along all the southern border with Egypt to be able to control the border better,” spokesman Iyad al-Bazm told AFP. “This is a message that we are concerned with border security and stability."
Measures included three bases established along the border, Al-Arabiya reports. Ten temporary buildings have been built along the border as well.
The newfound cooperation follows a meeting last month between a Hamas delegation, headed by Moussa Abu Marzuk, and Egyptian officials to normalize relations.
Hamas-Egypt relations have suffered since the ouster of Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohammed Morsi in 2013; Egypt has been destroying terror tunnels and cracked down on smuggling from the terror group since 2014, while establishing a buffer zone.
Cairo has also accused Hamas of backing jihadist insurgents in the Sinai Peninsula, charges Hamas denies.