Tag Archive for Rafah Crossing

| August 17, 2017
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ISIS suicide bomber from Gaza kills Hamas commander, injurers others

When Hamas security forces at the Rafah crossing into Egypt tried to stop two Salafists terrorists, one of them set off an explosion, killing the Hamas commander and wounding several others.

By Elior Levy, Roi Kais

 

A commander in Hamas’s military wing was killed early Thursday in an ISIS suicide bombing at the Rafah border crossing, which connects the Gaza Strip and Egypt.

According to the Gazan Interior Ministry, Hamas forces stopped for a security check two people who were nearing the border crossing from inside the strip when one of them set off an explosion, likely from a suicide belt. Continue Reading »

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| August 17, 2017
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Palestinian suicide bomber blew himself up next to Hamas security personnel

According to reports in the Arab media, a suicide bomber blew himself up at the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt, next to Hamas members who were arresting him.

By Elad Benari

 

The Interior Ministry in Gaza said on Wednesday night that a suicide bomber blew himself up at the Rafah crossing on the Egyptian border, according to reports in Israeli and Arab media.

Egyptian Army destroys part of Egyptian Rafah to widen buffer zone with Gaza.– Photo: AFP

 

The reports said Hamas security personnel arrested two people who approached the crossing, when one of them blew himself up. Continue Reading »

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| June 17, 2015
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Hamas Exploits Egypt’s Opening Border to Smuggle Cement For Rebuilding Tunnels

Egypt’s opening of Rafah border crossing allows Gaza’s Islamist gov’t to smuggle in some 4,000 tons of cement a day to rebuild terror-tunnels.

By Yossi Yehoshua

 

The Egyptian authorities decided on Tuesday the keep the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Sinai open until Friday, allowing Hamas to smuggle thousands of tons of cement into the Strip, which could be used for the reconstruction of terror tunnels. 


Terror tunnels being rebuilt

 

Egypt has only recently started opening the Rafah border crossing again after closing it during Operation Protective Edge last summer.

At first, the terminal was to be opened for three days from Saturday in what was considered a rare occurrence, but Egypt has since extended its opening time by two days until Wednesday and now in two additional days until Friday. Continue Reading »

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| March 12, 2015
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Report: Islamic Jihad-mediated reconciliation between Egypt and Hamas

According to the report, Egypt agreed to open the Rafah border crossing with Gaza twice weekly under PA control & Hamas agrees to refrain from inciting against Egypt or interfere in Egyptian affairs, especially in the Sinai.

By i24news

 

Egyptian authorities on Wednesday agreed to an Islamic Jihad-mediated reconciliation with the Islamist group Hamas, the Palestinian news agency Ma’an reported.

Young Palestinians waving Hamas flags February 5, 2015 – Photo: Said Khatib/AFP/Archives

“Egypt has called on Hamas to renege on its ideology that comes from the Muslim Brotherhood,” senior Egyptian security officials told Ma’an.

According to the report, as part of the agreement Egypt agreed to open the Rafah border crossing with Gaza twice weekly to start with before opening it on a permanent basis. Continue Reading »

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| December 22, 2014
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Egypt Opens Rafah Crossing From Gaza for 2 Days, Allowing 630 to Enter

The crossing, not controlled by Israel, allowed only those seeking medical treatment or were holders of a Hamas permit to stay overseas.

By i24news

 

Around 630 Palestinians left Gaza and entered the Egyptian Sinai through the Rafah crossing on Sunday after Cairo authorized a temporary reopening of the border, a Palestinian official said.

Egypt's Rafah border terminal with Hamas - Photo: i24news screenshot

Egypt’s Rafah border terminal with Hamas – Photo: i24news screenshot

It was only the second time in two months that Egypt had opened the Rafah terminal.

On Saturday, an Egyptian official confirmed to AFP that the crossing would be open on Sunday and Monday.

All of those crossing were either seeking medical treatment or were holders of a permit to stay overseas, according to Maher Abu Sabha, director of border crossings in the Gaza Strip. Continue Reading »

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| September 1, 2014
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Egypt: Condition for Rafah crossing opened if Abbas’ Palestinian Authority troops guard it

Hamas has not dismissed the proposal outright, which indicates a willingness to consider Egypt’s demand.

Jerusalem has no objection to Cairo’s condition.

 

Egypt is conditioning an easing of transit restrictions at the Rafah checkpoint on the presence of a force from the Palestinian Authority’s Presidential Guard being stationed on the Gaza side of the crossing.

Rafah crossing.

Gazans wait, hoping to be given the permission to cross into Egypt, at the Rafah crossing, August 27, 2014.- Photo: AFP

Egypt has made this requirement clear to both Hamas and Israel in recent days. During the last weeks of the fighting, Hamas had indicated a willingness to consider the idea, but it hasn’t given a final answer. Continue Reading »

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| June 8, 2014
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New Sisi gov’t prepared to reopen Egyptian border with Gaza under PLO supervision

Egyptian official reports new Sisi administration backs Fatah-Hamas unity gov’t, considering to reopen the Rafah crossing under PA control.

By Ari Yashar

 

A senior Egyptian official revealed Saturday that newly elected President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s administration strongly supports the new Hamas-Fatah unity government, and is considering giving it supervision of the Rafah crossing from Gaza to Sinai.

The official, who spoke to the Judea and Samaria-based Arab Ma’an News Agency on condition of anonymity, said Egypt is willing to open the crossing which has been closed for months.

The move is part of an Egyptian siege of the Hamas-enclave of Gaza, which has sealed off the illegal smuggling tunnels that are used to transport fuel and goods from Sinai, but also weapons and terrorists, and has consequently caused an economic collapse in Gaza. Continue Reading »

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| March 19, 2014
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Hamas labels Egypt’s blockade as a ‘crime against humanity’

 

The continued closure of Egypt’s Rafah Crossing into Gaza, prohibiting regular traffic for past 6 weeks, has prevented travel and denied humanitarian aid for thousands of Palestinians.

By Reuters

 

The Palestinian militant group Hamas on Tuesday called Egypt’s curbs on movement through its crossing with the Gaza Strip a “crime against humanity”, in an unprecedented rebuke of its Arab neighbor that further frays their worsening ties.

Palestinians walking toward the Egyptian border crossing with Gaza in Rafah, Egypt

Palestinians walk toward the Egyptian border crossing with Gaza in Rafah, Egypt, Aug. 2012.- Photo: AP

The closures, that Egypt says were introduced because of security concerns, have cut off imports of medicine and aid to the impoverished coastal enclave and prevented travel by thousands of Gazans and patients seeking treatment abroad. Continue Reading »

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| September 28, 2013
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PA official blasts token presence at Egypt-Gaza border crossing

 

Hamas accuses the Palestinian Authority of inciting Egypt to keep the Rafah crossing closed to undermine its authority over the coastal territory.

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH

 

 

 

The Palestinian Authority does not want to return to the Rafah border crossing as part of a partial solution to the crisis at the crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, Jibril Rajoub, a senior member of the Fatah Central Committee, announced Saturday.

Egyptian Army soldiers guard gates of Sinai Gaza closed border crossing, May 20, 2012.

Rajoub’s announcement came as the Egyptian authorities reopened the border.

“The Palestinian leadership rejects partial appearances, such as the presence of the Presidential Guard at the sovereign border crossings, including Rafah,” Rajoub said.

Continue Reading »
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| September 22, 2013
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Egypt to Hamas: PA forces in place is key to reopening Rafah crossing

 

Cairo says without Abbas’ PA forces, Rafah border crossing will remain closed.

Hamas officials furious, calling the decision a “conspiracy”.

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH

 

 

 

Egypt won’t reopen the Rafah border crossing unless forces loyal to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas are allowed to return to the terminal, the PLO ambassador in Cairo, Barakat al-Farra, announced on Saturday.

A member of Hamas security forces rides a motorcycle on the border between Egypt and southern Gaza.

A member of Hamas security forces rides a motorcycle on the border between Egypt and southern Gaza. – Photo: REUTERS

Hamas said the announcement proved that the Gaza Strip was facing a “conspiracy.”

Abbas’s presidential guard was in control of the border crossing between 2005 and 2007, when Hamas expelled the PA from the Gaza Strip.

Continue Reading »
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| July 5, 2013
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Egypt seals Rafah crossing – Gaza Closed Indefinitely

Decision comes after Islamist gunmen staged multiple terror attacks on Egypt security forces 2 days after Army Generals forcibly replaced Islamist president Morsi.

By DPA and Reuters

Egypt has indefinitely closed the Rafah border crossing with the Gaza Strip following attacks on security forces in northern Sinai, a security official said Friday.

Palestinians walking toward the Egyptian border crossing with Gaza in Rafah, Egypt

Palestinians walk toward the Egyptian border crossing with Gaza in Rafah, Egypt, Aug. 2012.- Photo: AP

The crossing was opened in 2011 following the ouster of Egyptian president Hosny Mubarak, whose administration opposed the Hamas rulers in Gaza, and helped Israel to enforce a blockade on the enclave.

Early on Friday, Islamist gunmen staged multiple attacks on security forces on Sinai two days after the army overthrew elected Islamist President Mohammed Morsi

The security sources said a soldier was killed and two were wounded when a police station in Rafah on the border with the Gaza Strip came under rocket fire. Continue Reading »

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| May 18, 2013
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Smuggler Killed When Hamas Tunnel Collapses

Hamas smuggler dies as another tunnel caves in.

By Gil Ronen

 

An Arab youth was killed when a tunnel linking Egypt to Gaza collapsed on Saturday, Arab medical sources said.

Tunnel smuggler“Mussa Ghonaim, 26 years old, was killed in the tunnel collapse south of the town of Rafah,” the sources said, according to AFP.

In February, the Islamist terror movement Hamas, which governs Gaza, closed hundreds of tunnels used for smuggling in Rafah, which straddles the border between Egypt and the coastal enclave.

Hamas is making at least amillion dollars a day in “tax” money from Gaza smugglers, a senior IDF officer said Monday. Continue Reading »

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