GAZA CITY, Palestine
The Rafah crossing on the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula has been closed for 100 days now, the Gaza Interior Ministry said Saturday.
It added that this has been the longest closure of the crossing since 2009, calling on Egyptian authorities to reopen the border point to alleviate the suffering of the residents of the Gaza Strip.
Around 60,000 Gaza residents have registered to get out of the blockaded territory from the crossing for medical and other needs since July of 2013, according to Gaza's border crossings authority.
Since October of last year, Egyptian authorities have been working to create a buffer zone in the border area between Sinai and the Gaza Strip.
The zone is created with the aim of curbing militant activities in the parched Egyptian peninsula, according to Egyptian authorities.
With Gaza's other crossing points on its border with Israel closed by Israeli authorities, the closure of the Rafah crossing – Gaza's only window to the outside world at present – adds more suffering to the coastal territory's 1.9 million residents.
The Gaza Strip has been suffering an all-out blockade by Israel since 2007.
