CAIRO – Authorities on Wednesday closed the Rafah border crossing with the Gaza Strip following a deadly attack that targeted a military intelligence headquarters in Rafah city, Egyptian and Palestinian officials said.
CAIRO – Authorities on Wednesday closed the Rafah border crossing with the Gaza Strip following a deadly attack that targeted a military intelligence headquarters in Rafah city, Egyptian and Palestinian officials said.
The crossing is “closed until further notice,” an official Egyptian source told Anadolu Agency on Wednesday.
The Rafah border crossing represents Gaza’s only gateway to the outside world, as all other entry points to the coastal enclave remain blocked by Israeli authorities.
“A security cordon was set up around the military intelligence HQ that was targeted in this morning’s attack,” the source said, adding that journalists were barred from approaching the site.
Earlier on Tuesday, state television reported that at least three soldiers had been killed and more than ten injured in the attack.
According to the source, stepped-up security measures in and around Rafah come as part of “exceptional arrangements, which include setting up roadblocks, cutting communications and launching combing operations.”
Maher Abu Sabha, director of borders in the Gaza government, confirmed the border closure.
“Egyptian authorities notified us that the crossing would be closed in both directions until further notice,” he told AA.
Egypt has been in a state of turmoil since the military ousted Morsi, the country’s first democratically elected president, on July 3 following mass demonstrations against his presidency.
Ever since, northern Sinai has seen almost daily attacks by unknown gunmen. Last month, 25 policemen were killed in the region in an attack by suspected militants.
