Israeli army burns down Palestinian side of Rafah crossing

The Israeli army on Monday burned down the departure hall on the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing, eventually disconnecting Palestinians in the Gaza Strip from the outside world.

After seizing control of the Rafah crossing 40 days ago, the Israeli army set fire to the departure hall, as well as other facilities and buildings, eventually disconnecting Palestinians in Gaza from the outside world, according to an Anadolu correspondent.

Several Palestinian social media accounts shared images of the departure hall being completely burned down.

This comes amid ongoing incursions by Israeli military vehicles into Rafah's Philadelphi Corridor area, a demilitarized buffer zone that runs along the Gaza Strip's border with Egypt.

On May 6, the Israeli army invaded Rafah, a tiny city at the southern tip of Gaza despite international warnings. It also captured the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing, a vital route to humanitarian aid into Gaza, worsening the already difficult humanitarian conditions in the territory.

Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.

More than 37,300 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, most of them women and children, and more than 85,000 others injured, according to local health authorities.

Over eight months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lay in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, whose latest ruling ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its operation in Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.