File Photo: The Rafah border crossing from Gaza into Egypt. AFP
Israeli authorities said the move was part of heightened security measures amid a widening regional confrontation. The decision also suspends rotations of humanitarian personnel into Gaza “until further notice”.
Israeli officials said the closure would not immediately affect humanitarian conditions inside the enclave, claiming that existing supplies are sufficient for now.
The Rafah crossing is a key gateway for aid deliveries and medical evacuations and has played a central role in relief operations since the start of the war in Gaza. Earlier this month, the crossing reopened from the Palestinian side for limited arrivals and departures for the first time since May 2024, allowing some Palestinians to travel to Egypt for medical treatment and return under a ceasefire arrangement.
The closure comes hours after the United States and Israel launched large-scale military strikes on Iran. US President Donald Trump said Washington had begun “major combat operations.” Explosions were reported in Tehran, which described the assault as “aerial Zionist aggression,” despite an ongoing diplomatic track between Washington and Tehran.
Iran responded with ballistic missile strikes on Israel and attacks on US military bases in Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia, according to regional authorities and international media reports.
Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza has killed more than 70,000 Palestinians and wounded over 170,000, most of them women and children, according to the Palestinian health ministry. The genocide has severely restricted the flow of humanitarian aid, with crossings frequently closed or operating at limited capacity.
Despite an Israel-Hamas ceasefire in place since October 2025, brokered by Cairo, Doha, Ankara, and Washington, Tel Aviv has violated the truce hundreds of times, per the United Nations (UN), through actively attacking Gaza and limiting the flow of humanitarian aid into the strip.
Egypt has served as a primary conduit for assistance into Gaza since the outbreak of the war in October 2023, facilitating the entry of hundreds of thousands of tonnes of aid through Rafah, alongside international relief agencies.
Further updates on crossing operations are expected as regional tensions continue to escalate.
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