Israel burns down Rafah crossing departure hall

GAZA CITY / ANKARA (AA) – The Israeli army on Monday burned down the departure hall on the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing, disconnecting Palestinians in the Gaza Strip from the outside world.

The Israeli army also set fire to other facilities and buildings, according to an Anadolu correspondent.

Several Palestinian social media accounts shared images of the departure hall being burned down.

On May 6, the Israeli army invaded Rafah, a tiny city at the southern tip of Gaza despite international warnings. It also captured the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing, a vital route for humanitarian aid, worsening the already dire conditions in the territory.

Israel has faced international condemnation of its war on Gaza where it has killed more than 37,300 Palestinians, most of them women and children, according to local health authorities.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, whose latest ruling ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its operation in Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.

– Hamas denounces burning as ‘criminal act’ – 

Hamas condemned the burning of the departure hall, describing it as a “criminal act and brutal behavior” that confirms Israel’s “genocide in Gaza”.

In a statement, the group said the Israeli act “requires widespread international condemnation.”

It added that Israel “bears the consequences of this crime, which resulted in cutting off Palestinians’ communication with the outside world,” and urged international action to open the Rafah crossing, facilitate people travel, and facilitate the entry of humanitarian aid into the strip.