Egypt closes Rafah crossing
Published yesterday (updated) 11/07/2014 18:19
GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Egyptian authorities closed the Rafah crossing with Gaza on Friday, having opened it for one day to allow Palestinians injured in Israel’s military assault to seek treatment.
“We received orders from the Egyptian authorities to close the Rafah crossing after we partially opened it on Thursday,” spokesman for Gaza’s interior ministry Iyad al-Buzm told Ma’an.
The ministry strongly condemned the decision by Egypt as it had prepared buses and ambulances to take wounded Palestinians to the crossing.
Only 11 Palestinians were able to cross Rafah on Thursday when Egypt opened the crossing, al-Buzm added.
Over 600 Palestinians have been injured in Israel’s assault on Gaza with hospitals in the besieged enclave struggling to cope with the amount of casualties.
During Israel’s 2012 assault on Gaza, Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi condemned “Israeli aggression” and sent his prime minister to Gaza in a show of support for the Palestinians.
Since the military overthrew him in July 2013, Cairo has cracked down on smuggling tunnels to the Gaza Strip and accused Hamas of aiding the Brotherhood in militant attacks inside Egypt.