Rafah Crossing Now Completely Destroyed & No Longer Usable For Gazans Seeking Exit

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have announced that for the first time Gaza’s sole border crossing with Egypt has been completely destroyed to the point that it can no longer be used.

Israeli Army Radio issued the following statement days ago: “This is how Rafah crossing looks today, completely destroyed and no longer usable, after being taken over by Brigade 401 in one night.” The statement added that “Due to its relative proximity to the border, the Israeli army used the crossing as a stopping point and resting area.”

Throughout most of the conflict which goes back to Oct.7, Palestinian officials operated on one side and Egyptian border troops on the other. The government of Egypt has long been bracing for a possible flood of refugees especially after Israel’s ground offensive in Rafah kicked off.

That Rafah crossing is now effectively closed and guarded by the IDF, which will only add to the unfolding humanitarian disaster as civilians are trapped with nowhere to go amid the Israel-Hamas battles raging on streets across southern Gaza.

As for the physical state of the crossing itself, war correspondents have confirmed that the exterior of the structure was incinerated: “Occupation forces damaged Rafah crossing’s halls that were used by locals to exit the Strip,” according to an earlier report by Middle East Eye.