Why Egypt hasn't opened the Rafah border crossing from Gaza

The Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt may be the only hope for anyone trying to get out of the Palestinian territory, which has been under Israeli siege and aerial bombardments since the militant group Hamas and carried out deadly attacks on Israeli communities on Oct. 7.

Thousands of civilians in Gaza have waited for days at the Rafah crossing the only exit not controlled by Israel even as the Israeli military has fired a series of airstrikes near the Gaza side of the border.

No one from Gaza has been allowed to cross into Egypt including many Canadians and other foreign nationals waiting to leave. But the Canadian, U.S. and othergovernments are trying negotiate with Egypt and Israel to ensure their citizens can get out of the besieged enclaveand that desperately needed humanitarian aid can be brought in.

Though Egypt has said it is prepared to allow truckloads of supplies into Gaza,experts say the Egyptian government may not be keen to open the border gates to a torrent of refugees both because they would need support and could include Hamas militants.

Rafah has "always been a very contentious issue," among Israelis, Palestinians and Egyptians, said Contanza Musu, an associate professor at the University of Ottawa's Graduate School of Public and International Affairs.

WATCH | Waiting to leave through Rafah:

Palestinians stuck at closed crossing between Gaza and Egypt

12 months ago

Duration 1:10

Under advice from their embassies, Gazans with dual citizenship headed to the Rafah crossing in hopes of getting over to Egypt, but they were met with closed gates.

Musu says it's a huge challenge for any government to host a significant number of new refugees.

"You need to set up camps and those camps have to be provided with water, with sanitation and with health care, food and, eventually, children have to go to school," she told CBC News.

Egypt already hosts 300,000 UN-registered refugees from dozens of countries and has seen an additional 317,000 arrive since conflict broke out in its southern neighbour Sudan earlier this year, so the government may have concerns about hosting a large number of newly displaced people from Gaza for an "indefinite" period of time, Musu said.

It's estimated more than 100,000 Palestinians already live in Egypt with no legal status as citizens or refugees.

But Musu says there's another concern for Egypt Hamas. The Egyptian government considers it a a terrorist organization and it's also anoffshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood, which is outlawed in Egypt.

Many Palestinians don't have proper travel documents, Mususays, making it difficult to verify identities and prevent Hamas fighters from hiding among fleeing civilians and then operating out of the Sinai Peninsula, where Egypt has fought other Islamist groups, including ISIS, for years.

"Allowing large numbers of Palestinians into their territory, Egypt's leaders fear, would strengthen the links between these extremist forces," Steven A. Cook, an Middle East policy expert with the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), wrote in a post on the think-tank's website.

Blockade co-operation

Egypt and Israel have co-operated with one another strategically and economically, and the neighbouring countries and former adversaries also have an agreement about Gaza.

Since Hamas took control in Gaza in 2007, Egypt has helped enforce a blockade of the enclave and heavily restricted the flow of people and goods. Like Gaza's main crossings with Israel, restrictions have sometimes been eased, but not lifted, and travelers need security clearance and lengthy checks to pass.

In 2008, tens of thousands of Palestinians crossed into Sinai after Hamas blasted holes in border fortifications, prompting Egypt to commence building a stone and cement wall.

Egypt has acted as a mediator between Israel and Palestinian factions during past conflicts and periods of unrest. But in those situations it has also locked down the border, allowing aid to enter and medical evacuees to leave while preventing any large-scale movement of people.

Even as Israel pursues its heavybombardment of Gaza in response to Hamas's assault, Egypt has shown no sign so far that its approach will change.

WATCH | Gaza border at Egypt remains closed:

Why Egypt hasn't opened the Rafah crossing with Gaza

11 months ago

Duration 7:56

As the humanitarian situation in Gaza deteriorates, theres growing pressure on Egypt to open the Rafah border crossing to let vital aid in and people out. The National breaks down why Egypt hasnt budged and how the situation could unfold over the coming days.