Rafah Border Crossing

The Rafah Border Crossing (Arabic: معبر رفح, romanized: Ma`bar Rafaḥ), also known as the Rafah Crossing Point and referred to by Egyptian authorities as the Rafah land port, is the sole crossing point between Egypt and Palestine's Gaza Strip and Gaza's sole border point with a country other than Israel. The Rafah crossing was opened by Israel after the 1979 peace treaty and remained under Israeli control until Israel's disengagement from Gaza in 2005, when it was transferred to Egyptian, Palestinian Authority, and EU control (EUBAM Rafah), giving Palestinians partial control of an international border for the first time. In 2007, after Hamas seized Gaza, the EU withdrew, and Israel imposed a complete blockade, effectively sealing Gaza. In the same year, Egypt closed the Rafah crossing. Since then, the Rafah crossing has only opened intermittently for Palestinian movement. Under a 2007 agreement between Egypt and Israel, Egypt controls the crossing but imports through the Rafah crossing require Israeli approval. During the Gaza war, Israel took control of the crossing on 7 May 2024, withdrew under a ceasefire agreement in January 2025, and reoccupied it in March. The crossing was reopened under later ceasefire arrangements on 2 February 2026.