By Dilara Afifi
GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) - Hamas denounced the Israeli military's destruction of the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing on Wednesday as "criminal behavior” that “will not change the crossing’s reality.”
The statement was in response to footage released by the Israeli army that showed the devastation caused at the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt.
“It is an act of terrorism by the occupying Israeli army to destroy the Rafah crossing with all its buildings and facilities, an escalation of crimes and violations against our people,” said the Palestinian resistance group.
It accused the army of attempting “to isolate Gaza from the world and perpetuating the destruction of life-sustaining infrastructure,” as it described it as “fascist.”
Despite the sabotage by Israel, Hamas said the crossing would remain a Palestinian-Egyptian crossing. “This is a criminal behavior, but it will not change the crossing’s reality.”
Hamas noted that the crossing will “be rehabilitated under a Palestinian initiative once the occupation is ousted and aggression against Gaza ceases.”
Israeli Army Radio reported that the Rafah crossing in the southern Gaza Strip is no longer usable after the Palestinian side was destroyed by the army.
Video posted by the network on X showed extensive destruction caused by the army at the crossing, with the main hall appearing leveled and surrounding buildings demolished.
On May 7, the Israeli army seized control of the crossing following an announcement by Tel Aviv of a military operation in the densely populated city of Rafah, disregarding international warnings about the aggression’s repercussions.
The humanitarian situation in Gaza has since deteriorated due to the blocking of aid entry and the suspension of patient transfers for medical treatment abroad, compounded by the closure of most hospitals in the area.
Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7 attack by Hamas.
Nearly 37,400 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, most of them women and children, and more than 85,400 others injured, according to local health authorities.
More than eight months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lay in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.
Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, whose latest ruling ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its operation in Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.
*Writing by Mohammad Sio