- Joined
- Jan 23, 2006
- Messages
- 11,644
- Reaction score
- 13,152
Israel seizes Gaza key border crossing in Rafah
Israel has taken control of Gaza’s border crossing into Egypt just hours after its Rafah offensive began.
Israel sent tanks into Rafah in southern Gaza, seizing control of and sealing the border crossing with Egypt on Tuesday (local time) as its offensive continues.
The border is a key gateway for humanitarian aid into Gaza where conditions are desperate.
The White House said the closure was “unacceptable”.
The crossings that have been closed need to be reopened, it is unacceptable for them to be closed,” Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told a briefing on Tuesday adding that another crossing, at Kerem Shalom, was expected to reopen Wednesday
UN humanitarian office spokesman Jens Laerke said Israel had denied it access to both Rafah and Kerem Shalom — the other main Gaza aid crossing, on the border with Israel — with only “one day of fuel available” inside the besieged territory.
At the United Nations, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged Israel to “stop any escalation” and “immediately” reopen the crossings.
“The closure of both... crossings is especially damaging to an already dire humanitarian situation”, Guterres said, warning that “a full-scale assault on Rafah will be a human catastrophe”.