Skip to main content

Gaza Students Stranded By Rafah Border Closure

Palestinian students accepted into international universities may miss out on the academic year due to the blockade on Gaza.
Passengers gather around the gate of Rafah crossing with Egypt as they protest against the conditions on the crossing, with hopes of crossing into Egypt, September 18, 2013. Egypt partially reopened its border crossing with the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, a week after it was closed in response to a deadly attack on an Egyptian military headquarters near the frontier. Officials of the Palestinian Authority, the West Bank-based rival of Gaza's Hamas Islamist rulers, said Cairo agreed to open the crossing for fou

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Following the developments in neighboring Egypt and the dramatic fallout between the army-backed Egyptian leadership and the Hamas government in Gaza, the Rafah border crossing has been closed in the face of Palestinians seeking to travel outside of the Gaza Strip.

Due to the protracted closure of the Israeli-controlled Erez crossing in the north of the Gaza Strip, the Rafah crossing with Egypt has become the only accessible avenue for 1.7 million Palestinians living in the blockaded Gaza Strip. The closure of the Rafah crossing, therefore, has had a grave impact on the humanitarian situation of Palestinians stranded in the Gaza Strip. 

Access the Middle East news and analysis you can trust

Join our community of Middle East readers to experience all of Al-Monitor, including 24/7 news, analyses, memos, reports and newsletters.

Subscribe

Only $100 per year.