The border crossing called “Rafah crossing” with Egypt in the south has been touted as the last hope for Gazans to escape as Israel’s bombs rain down, and many Palestinians have begun moving in its direction in anticipation.
- Located in Egypt’s north Sinai, the Rafah Crossing is the sole border crossing between Gaza and Egypt.
- It falls along an 8-mile (12.8-kilometer) fence that separates Gaza from the Sinai desert. Gaza has changed hands several times over the past 70 years.
- It fell under Egyptian control in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, and was captured by Israel in the 1967 war, after which Israel began settling Jews there and significantly curtailed the movement of its Palestinian residents.
- In 2005, Israel withdrew its troops and settlers from the territory, and two years later the strip was seized by Hamas.
- Since then, Egypt and Israel have imposed tight controls on their respective borders with the territory and Israel blockades it further by restricting travel by sea or air.
- Israel has also enclosed the territory with a heavily fortified border fence.
