Egypt has told Gaza authorities it will close the Rafah border crossing from Monday, a spokesman for the Palestinian enclave's Hamas government said.
"We were informed by the Egyptian authorities that the Rafah crossing will be closed tomorrow, Monday, in both directions," Iyad al-Bozom, a spokesman for the Gaza interior ministry, said in a statement Sunday evening.
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A Palestinian man stands next to a truck carrying clothes for export, at Kerem Shalom crossing in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip
(Photo: Reuters)
Security sources in Egypt confirmed the move, saying the crossing would be closed until further notice, without offering details or saying why.
According to two Egyptian security sources quoted by Reuters, the closure was made for security reasons following an escalation on Saturday along the Gaza border between Israel and Hamas.
Following riots that resulted in a Border Police officer being critically wounded, Israeli aircraft struck several Hamas weapons storage and manufacturing facilities in retaliation.
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Palestinian protestors hurling stones at IDF soldiers along the border fence with Gaza on Saturday
(Photo: AFP)
Egypt had ordered the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt -- the enclave's only border point not controlled by Israel -- to open in May to allow wounded Gazans to be treated in Egyptian hospitals and to deliver aid.
The opening came in the aftermath of the 11-day exchange of Hamas rocket fire and devastating Israeli air strikes, which also pushed Egypt to pledge $500-million towards Gaza's reconstruction.
Egypt had brokered the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas which ended the hostilities.