RAFAH: Egypt will bar Gazans from crossing into its territory from Tuesday, after the Palestinian Authority withdrew staff from the border point over alleged abuses.
The partial closure will raise fears over the impact on Gaza's two million residents, for whom a rare opening of the crossing in recent months has provided an opportunity to leave the strip, controlled by Hamas.
A statement late Monday from the Hamas-run interior ministry said Egyptian authorities had informed them the crossing "will be limited to only the arrival of individuals and the entry of goods".
It did not say for how long it was expected to be closed for those leaving, and there was no immediate comment from Egypt.
Rafah - the only way for Gazans to leave the Palestinian enclave that bypasses Israel - was closed Monday due to the Orthodox Christmas holiday but had been expected to reopen both directions Tuesday.
The PA's civil affairs authority on Sunday announced its staff would no longer man the crossing, accusing Hamas of "summoning, arresting and abusing our employees", according to official Palestinian news agency WAFA.
Earlier on Monday Hamas employees retook the post in what they said was an attempt to maintain border control after the shock PA withdrawal.
An AFP journalist saw Hamas officials at the border crossing's main gate and inside accompanying offices in southern Gaza.
Hamas' interior ministry spokesman Iyad al-Bozum said his organisation aimed to "protect the interests of our people."
Hamas seized control of Gaza in 2007 in a near civil war with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas' Fatah party.
But the PA took control of Rafah in November 2017, as part of a deal for Egypt to reopen a border that had been entirely shut from August that year and largely sealed for years before that.
The PA's takeover of Rafah in 2017 was seen as a first step towards implementing a reconciliation agreement between it and Hamas.
The deal has subsequently broken down and Abbas' PA has taken a series of measures against Gaza.
Egypt has allowed the border to open regularly since August 2018, providing a lifeline to the enclave's residents.
Israel has maintained a crippling blockade of Gaza for more than a decade, in a bid to isolate Hamas and keep it from obtaining weapons.
Critics say the policy amounts to collective punishment.
Israel and Hamas have fought three wars since 2008.
A planned event commemorating the anniversary of the founding of Fatah - due to take place in Gaza on Monday - was cancelled on Sunday, as organisers said they faced threats.
Hamas says Egypt to close Gaza crossing to Palestinians leaving the territory
Hamas says Egypt to close Gaza crossing to Palestinians leaving the territory
- Palestinian Authority took control of Rafah in November 2017, as part of a deal for Egypt to reopen the border
- Hamas border official said they had taken control “to avoid a vacuum”
US special envoys in Israel to discuss future of Gaza, sources tell Reuters
JERUSALEM: US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were in Israel on Saturday to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, mainly to discuss Gaza, two people briefed on the matter told Reuters.
The US on Thursday announced plans for a “New Gaza” rebuilt from scratch, to include residential towers, data centers and seaside resorts, part of President Donald Trump’s push to advance an Israel-Hamas ceasefire shaken by repeated violations.
The Israeli prime minister’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The head of a transitional Palestinian committee backed by the US to temporarily administer Gaza, Ali Shaath, said on Thursday that the Rafah border crossing — effectively the sole route in or out of Gaza for nearly all of the more than 2 million people who live there — would open next week.
Israel wants to restrict the number of Palestinians entering Gaza through the border crossing with Egypt to ensure that more are allowed out than in, three sources briefed on the matter said ahead of the border’s expected opening.
The border was supposed to have opened during the initial phase of Trump’s plan to end the war, under a ceasefire reached in October between Israel and Hamas.
The death toll in Gaza since October 7, 2023, now stands at 71,654, and the death toll since the October ceasefire at 481, according to data from Gaza’s health ministry on Saturday.
Earlier this month, Washington announced that the plan had now moved into the second phase, under which Israel is expected to withdraw troops further from Gaza, and Hamas is due to yield control of the territory’s administration.
The Gaza side of the crossing has been under Israeli military control since 2024.
Trump also said on Thursday that the United States has an “armada” heading toward Iran, but hoped he would not have to use it, as he renewed warnings to Tehran against killing protesters or restarting its nuclear program.
