(VOVworld) - Egypt began setting up a 500-meter wide buffer zone along about 10 kilometers of the border with Gaza Wednesday to prevent militant infiltration and arms smuggling.

Egyptian Army personnel supervise the destruction of tunnels between Egypt and the Gaza Strip at the border, near the town of Rafah, northern Sinai, Egypt, September 2013 (Photo: AP)

The move, which is set to result in the demolition of hundreds of homes, comes after a suicide bombing in the Sinai Peninsula killed at least 30 soldiers on October 24th. A senior official in northern Sinai said the creation of the buffer with the Palestinian territory was “vital for national security and stability.” They said about 800 homes would be demolished.
Witnesses in the border town of Rafah reported seeing dozens of families leaving along with trucks loaded with furniture. Bulldozers were reported to have begun destroying several long-abandoned houses along the frontier. Egypt suspects Palestinian militants of aiding jihadist attacks that have increased since the army ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi last year.