Masses stuck at the Taba crossing for over 10 hours
With 8,000 people in 400 vehicles crossing the Israel-Egypt border, and two smuggling attempts that led to the crossing's closure, many Israelis had to wait for hours to cross with no ability to get food or water.
Thousands of Israelis on their way home from the Sinai Peninsula were stuck at the crossing for hours, saying they had to wait with no food or water available.
The Israel Airports Authority said that delays were caused by two smuggling attempts.
Masra Fukara, who arrived at the border with her family at around noon time, said they had waited for hours to cross the border. "Only around 8pm they started letting people cross the border by foot, but we came with a car," she said.
Fukara, who waited at the crossing with her four children, described the place as a war zone. "Obviously, after a few hours of waiting, the fighting started. Thousands were waiting with no food, no air condition,” she said.
"My children were hungry and we couldn’t go back into Egypt to buy food. When they opened the crossing, the line was crawling," added Fukara.
The family was facing a long drive to their home in Bu'eine in northern Israel. "I don't have the patience to stand in line anymore, I have no idea why it's taking so long," she said.
M., also a resident of northern Israel, said that "we haven't eaten in eight hours. The bathroom here sucks, and there are no chairs here. We can either sit in the car and go crazy, or get out of the car like everyone else, sit on the sidewalk, and wait. I have no idea what's going on, but it can't be that it takes more than ten hours to cross the border."
The long lines were apparently the result of two smuggling attempts—one in the morning hours and another in the evening—which led to the closure of the crossing, for about an hour every time.
The Israel Airports Authority said that some 8,000 people in 400 vehicles crossed the border since midnight on Saturday, which led to the long lines.
