By Mohammad Sio
ISTANBUL (AA) - Egypt’s foreign minister criticized the international community on Tuesday over its inability to prevent the Israeli army’s incursion into the southern Gaza city of Rafah, which is home to more than 1.5 million displaced Palestinians who have taken refuge from the war launched by Israel following an Oct. 7 attack by Hamas.
“The international community has failed to prevent Israel from invading Rafah,” Sameh Shoukry was quoted by Egyptian media as saying.
On Monday, Israeli forces issued evacuation orders for Palestinians in eastern Rafah, in a move widely seen as a prelude to Israel's long-feared attack on the city.
Earlier on Tuesday, Israeli forces seized control of the Rafah border crossing linking Gaza with Egypt, closing it to all traffic.
The Israeli army said the 401st armored brigade took "operational control" of the Rafah crossing from the Palestinian side.
Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip in retaliation for an Oct. 7 attack by Hamas which killed about 1,200 people. Nearly 34,800 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, the vast majority of whom have been women and children, and 78,100 others injured, according to Palestinian health authorities.
Seven months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins, pushing 85% of the enclave’s population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine, according to the UN.
Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January said it is "plausible" that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza and ordered Tel Aviv to stop such acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.