Egypt closes Rafah crossing with Gaza

Egyptian authorities on Thursday closed the Rafah border crossing with the blockaded Gaza Strip after opening it for three days.

The terminal was opened on Tuesday for three days in both directions to allow stranded Palestinians to cross in and out of the Gaza Strip.

“The crossing was closed after four vehicles, three ambulances and a large shipment of cement crossed into Gaza,” a security source told media sources.

The source, however, gave no date for reopening the terminal.

Egypt had opened the Rafah crossing on June 13 for one week.

Egypt has tightened its grip on the border with the blockaded Gaza Strip since 2013, following the ouster of elected President Mohamed Morsi in a military coup.

The repeated closures of the Rafah crossing, Gaza’s only access to the outside world not under Israeli control, have made life even more difficult for Gaza’s roughly 1.9 million residents.