The Egyptian-controlled Rafah crossing is Gaza's main lifeline to the outside world that is not run by Israel, and has become the focal point of efforts to deliver humanitarian aid, and allow out injured people and foreign passport holders.
It is on Gaza's southern border with Egypt, and has become the focal point of efforts to deliver humanitarian aid, and allow out injured people and foreign passport holders.Israel imposed a "total siege" on the Palestinian enclave following the deadly attack by Hamas militants on Oct. 7 that killed more than 1,400 Israelis.With Israel's border crossings closed, Rafah is the only way that Gazans can leave the 360-square-kilometre coastal strip.
Although Israel does not directly control the Rafah crossing, it monitors all activity in southern Gaza from Kerem Shalom military base, and other surveillance.Israel controls all sea and air access to Gaza and most of its land borders. In normal times, more than 400 trucks go into Gaza daily - through various routes - to supply 2.3 million people.
During past conflicts aid was mainly delivered from Israel, and the UN aid operation for Palestinians has been run through Israel since the 1950s. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is also wary of Hamas, an Islamist armed group created by the Muslim Brotherhood.During a previous blockage in 2008 Hamas blasted holes in Egypt's border fortifications. That allowed tens of thousands of Palestinians to cross into Sinai, and prompted Egypt to build a stone and cement wall.
Many are determined not to repeat the mass displacement of the 1948 war surrounding Israel's founding, when some 700,000 Palestinians fled or were driven from their homes, and have been denied return.
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