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Fuel Crisis Threatens Gaza After Egypt Border Closure

Egypt's decision to close the Rafah crossing amid the recent unrest risks plunging Gaza into a crisis of its own.
A Palestinian man carries cooking gas canisters at a gas filling station in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip June 24, 2013. Egypt has intensified a crackdown on smuggling tunnels between its volatile Sinai desert and the Gaza Strip, causing a steep hike in petrol and cement prices in the Palestinian territory. Many Gaza residents complain they have been without cooking gas for weeks, with tunnel supplies low and imports from Israel scarce. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS SOCIETY EN
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Gaza is facing a fuel crisis with serious snowball effects due to Cairo’s decision to close the Rafah crossing and tunnels along the border due to the continued unrest in Egypt. In addition to the coming fuel crisis, thousands of people have been stranded by the border closure, unable to travel to and from Gaza.

Amina al-Arqan was packing when she heard the news about the Rafah crossing’s closure. She was subsequently forced to extend her stay in Gaza. Arqan had been visiting her siblings, and now wants to go back to her family in Egypt.

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