How to understand Egypt’s role in the Israel-Hamas conflict

Under conditions that the United Nations has already labeled a “humanitarian catastrophe,” hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have fled south in preparation for a potential major Israeli assault on the northern part of Gaza. As the hospitals, homes, schools, and streets of the south fill up with the displaced and injured, time is running out to get lifesaving aid in — or to help people, including hundreds of US citizens, leave.

Planes full of medical equipment from the Red Cross and the World Health Organization are at the al-Arish airport in Egypt’s Sinai,...