THE Rafah border crossing into Egypt, the only exit out of Gaza, remains closed on Monday.
Egypt is facing more pressure from the international community to open the crossing as the Palestinian enclave gets pounded by Israeli airstrikes.
Israel closed its two border crossings with Gaza and imposed a “complete siege” on the territory in retaliation to the deadly surprise attack launched by Hamas.
That has left the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt the only way for people to get out of the enclave and for humanitarian supplies to come in.
However, Egypt also closed the border crossing since last week, with neither Gazans nor foreign nationals able to pass, amid fears of a wave of Palestinian refugees entering its territory.
Additionally, tons of critical humanitarian supplies for people in Gaza are piling up on the Egyptian side of the border.
Meanwhile, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi reiterated his country’s opposition to opening the border and insisted that Palestinians must resist efforts forcing them to leave Gaza, and should remain firm in staying on their own land.
This came after Israel called for the 1.1 million residents of northern Gaza to evacuate from their homes and move southwards, as the Israeli military gathered 300,000 reservists on the border in obvious preparation for a ground invasion.
Hundreds of foreigners flocked on Saturday to the Rafah border crossing, some of them Americans, waited for hours in front of the crossing gate.
Israel and Egypt reportedly opened the crossing on the same day to allow U.S. citizens stranded in the Hamas-controlled territory to leave after holding talks with representatives from the Biden administration.
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday clarified there is no ceasefire for humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip and the exit of foreigners amid reports of reaching a deal to open the border with Egypt and the US.
