Israel-Hamas war: Aid for Gaza stuck in Egypt with Rafah crossing closed
New Indian ExpressThe Rafah crossing -- the only passage in and out of the Gaza Strip not controlled by Israel -- has been closed since Tuesday, after three Israeli air strikes on the Palestinian border post within 24 hours. On Saturday, an American official confirmed to AFP that Egypt and Israel had reached an agreement to allow American citizens to leave Gaza via Rafah. Israel, which controls the other two crossing points into Gaza, has declared a "complete siege" of the Palestinian coastal enclave, cutting off food, water, fuel and electricity supplies to the territory's 2.4 million people. On Friday, Israel ordered civilian residents of the northern Gaza Strip, numbering around 1.1 million, to move southwards to clear the way for an expected ground invasion in retaliation for Hamas's October 7 attack on southern Israel.