Egypt temporarily closed the primary border crossing between Egypt and Gaza after Israeli shells hit nearby the Rafah border crossing on both Monday and Tuesday, prompting its closure. The crossing was reopened not long after to registered travellers and humanitarian work.
The temporary closures completely closed the Egypt-Gaza border, as Egypt has closed all of its other border crossings with Gaza, citing “security reasons”.
Egypt has accused Israel of attempting to force Gaza Palestinians into a “mass movement” into Egypt’s Sinai, adding that it poses a distinct threat to Egypt’s “national security”. They further stated that it is Israel’s responsibility to open humanitarian corridors in order to rescue Gaza’s 2.3 million civilians.
Egypt wishes to avoid a large refugee flow into the country, something which becomes a larger and larger possibility as more buildings in Gaza are completely destroyed by Israeli strikes. However, as things presently stand, Egypt has said they have seen no large gatherings on their borders, though they have increased military presence in the area.
