Rafah crossing dilemma: A gateway to escape the Israel-Hamas war

Many people were praying while waiting for the Rafah Crossing to open, hoping to escape the ongoing war between Israel and the Hamas Movement in Gaza, now on its tenth day.

The Rafah Crossing is the only border crossing connecting Gaza to Egypt, despite Gaza being surrounded to the north and east by Israel and to the west by the sea.

So, where is this crossing located?

It is a land crossing near the city of Rafah, between the Gaza Strip in Palestine and the Sinai Peninsula, under the control of the Palestinian side, specifically the Hamas Movement.

Several individuals headed to this crossing after holders of foreign passports received calls from their embassies advising them to go there. Others, who also held foreign passports, did not wait for any calls.

They received press reports indicating that the crossing would open at 9 AM, coinciding with a ceasefire based on an Egyptian-Israeli-American agreement. Consequently, they headed there at dawn.

During the long hours of waiting, Hamas denied the reports of a ceasefire for a few hours and the opening of the Rafah Crossing.

Furthermore, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that there was no ceasefire agreement in Gaza at this stage and no entry of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip in exchange for the evacuation of foreigners.

Inside Gaza, specifically in the vicinity of the crossing, thousands waited.

However, inside the crossing, everything appeared unprepared to open the doors, with clear signs of Israeli airstrikes that targeted the crossing. This is on a logistical level.

On a political level, Egypt affirmed its readiness to open the crossing and shifted the responsibility to Israel.

Another reason behind the delay in reopening the Rafah Crossing is Israel's insistence on inspecting all humanitarian and relief aid trucks before they enter Gaza through Egypt.

Thus, the Rafah Crossing is still waiting, but will the doors be opened?