Egypt closes Rafah Crossing after 3-day opening

Gazans wait for a bus, which will transport them to Egypt, after Egyptian authorities opened the Rafah border gate on 8 February 2018 [Ali Jadallah/Anadolu Agency]

The Director of the Rafah Crossing said yesterday that the Egyptian authorities had told his officials that the border was going to be closed after being open for three days, Al-Jazeera Arabic TV Channel has reported. Rashid Al-Buji cited security developments in the Sinai Peninsula as the reason for the closure.

The crossing was opened suddenly by the Egyptians on Wednesday after a 40-day closure. Fewer than 1,000 Palestinians out of a total of 30,000 registered to travel for urgent purposes were able to leave the besieged enclave during the opening period.

On Friday morning, the Egyptian military announced the start of a wide-scale military operation in the north of Sinai in the hunt for “terrorists”. Reports claim that Egyptians living in the region have been fleeing their homes since the Egyptian forces started to prepare for the campaign.

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