Arabic → English transcript

The Rafah crossing,

or Gazans’ only gateway to the outside world,

is a land crossing located in the south of the Gaza Strip.

Specifically,

it lies at the far south of Rafah governorate on the Palestinian- Egyptian border.

And although it is no longer officially under Israeli control after the

crossings agreement signed between Israel and the Palestinian Authority in 2005,

Israel has long exerted pressure, directly and indirectly,

to control its opening and closing and the lists of people crossing through it.

Before the war,

the Rafah crossing formed a vital passageway for goods and people,

but it was dedicated mainly to the movement of individuals.

In addition,

it is the route for goods and humanitarian aid into the Strip,

including food supplies,

basic necessities, medicines,

and medical equipment.

But under the Israeli war on the Strip,

the crossing

has turned into a besieged gateway to survival and into a tool of Israeli pressure.

The entry of aid through it has completely

stopped since the occupation army took control of the Palestinian side of it,

which has led to the worsening of the humanitarian catastrophe in the Strip.

For Palestinians today,

the continued closure of the Rafah crossing represents an escalation of suffering

for thousands of patients and wounded people who need treatment outside the Strip.

It also means more starvation and

deprivation because emergency aid trucks are being prevented from entering.

As for Israel, it conditions allowing the opening of the crossing on receiving the

body of the last Israeli captive in Gaza.

It also insists on continuing to close it as part of a comprehensive siege policy

despite international calls to open it to save more than two million Palestinians.