The Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt has been targeted by Israeli airstrikes as Palestinians were trying to escape the unabated bombing in residential area of Gaza.
The Rafah border crossing is a vital humanitarian route for the Red Crescent and other organisations providing aid to the besieged Gaza Strip, which houses over two million Palestinians.
Since Monday, Israeli forces have bombarded the Rafah crossing at least three times. Videos circulated on social media shows chaos among people who were trying to cross the border as Israeli aircrafts bombarded the area.
Earlier on Tuesday, a senior Israeli Defense Force (IDF) spokesman advised Palestinians in the Gaza Strip to flee to Egypt, “Rafah crossing is still open. Anyone who can get out, I would advise them to get out.”
Later, IDF issued a clarification that there is no official call from Israel for Gaza Strip residents to leave for Egypt following a strike near the Rafah crossing, Times of Israel reported.
The Sinai Foundation for Human Rights (SFHR) also posted a video showing Egyptian humanitarian aid trucks returning to the Egyptian side after reported Israeli warnings that aid trucks would also be targeted.
The organisation added that the border crossing has been indefinitely closed following the repeated Israeli aerial bombardment.
Israel: We didn’t ask Palestinians to move to Sinai
On Tuesday, Israeli ambassador to Egypt Amira Oron said that “Israel has no intentions regarding Sinai, and has not asked the Palestinians to move there.”
“Israel is committed to the peace treaty with Egypt, in which the borders between the two countries were clearly defined. Sinai is Egyptian territory where the Egyptian army has fought terrorism during the past ten years.”
Israel is launching airstrikes as part of a robust counteroffensive following a series of surprise attacks by Hamas that began on Saturday, October 7.
Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu has stated that Gaza will face a “unknown price” for the attacks that have resulted in at least 1,200 Israeli deaths and 3,000 injuries.
Gaza’s Ministry of Health said that at least 974 Palestinians have been killed, including 260 children and 230 women, and 5,000 citizens injured so far due to Israeli attacks.
