CAIRO - Egyptian security forces were placed on high alert in Sinai fearing Hamas operatives who infiltrated from Gaza plan to fire rockets at Israel.
Egyptian security forces believe members of a Hamas terror cell recently infiltrated into Egypt from Gaza with long-range Grad missiles, which they intend to fire at Israel, Ma'an news agency said Sunday.
The agency said the operatives planned to carry out rocket attacks in the near future.
The operatives apparently entered Egypt through smuggling tunnels located along the border with the Gaza Strip, the report said.
Egyptian security forces beefed up their presence in Sinai and set up checkpoints, the news agency said.
Meanwhile, a senior Hamas security official was arrested Sunday at Cairo's International Airport, the news agency said.
Mohamed Dabaeesh, aka Abu Radwan, the commander of the General Security Services in Gaza, was allegedly arrested for possessing falsified travel documents, the report said.
A statement released by Hamas in Gaza condemned his arrest and called for his immediate release.
An Egyptian source told the news agency his arrest was in connection with a thwarted attempt to smuggle millions of dollars worth of wireless devices into Gaza through the border-tunnel complex.
The Jerusalem Post quoted Hamas media saying Radwan is responsible for the general security of the terror group, intelligence operations and weapon and equipment smuggling into Gaza.
