Israeli Airstrikes Target Gaza-Sinai Rafah Border Crossing

Israeli bombardments exploded the area of the Rafah border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt on Tuesday, Palestinian officials and Egyptian security sources stated, threatening operations at Gaza’s only formal exit point on the southern border.

The bombardments, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run Interior Ministry, have halted crossing operations, and Egyptian personnel have warned Palestinian counterparts to evacuate.

The strike comes after a similar incident on Monday that temporarily halted border operations, though Egyptian security sources said access for registered travelers and humanitarian aid had been restored by Tuesday morning.

For Gaza’s 2.3 million population, Rafah is the sole possible entry point into Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula. Egypt and Israel have imposed a rigorous blockade on the passage of commodities and people from Gaza.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Israeli military altered an advice made by one of its spokespeople for Palestinians escaping Israeli air attacks in the Gaza to travel to Egypt.

Since Hamas launched a deadly invasion of Israel on Saturday, Israel has been hitting Gaza with the strongest air strikes in the 75-year history of its conflict with the Palestinians.

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