The Israeli army burned the departure hall on the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing on Monday, putting it out of service, Palestinian security sources said.
GAZA, June 17 (Xinhua) — The Israeli army on Monday burned the departure hall on the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing, putting it out of service, Palestinian security sources said.
Video clips posted by Palestinian activists on Facebook show that the departure hall and other facilities at the crossing point were burned to the ground.
The Israel Defense Forces told Xinhua it was looking into the matter, without providing further details. The Palestinian side of the crossing point between Gaza and Egypt has been under Israeli control since May 7.
In a statement, Hamas described the burning of the departures building and other facilities inside the Rafah crossing as a “criminal act and barbaric behavior as part of an ongoing genocide against the people Palestinian in Gaza.
This behavior was considered in the declaration to be a “clear war crime, warranting broad international condemnation.”
Fatah representative Munther Al-Hayek condemned the Israeli army’s action in a statement, saying that “the burning of the reception and departures building at the Rafah crossing point was clear evidence of intention of the occupier to isolate the area from the outside world and to maintain total security control there.
Israel is carrying out a large-scale offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip in retaliation for the Hamas attack on Israel’s southern border on October 7, 2023, in which around 1,200 people were killed and more than 200 were been taken hostage.
 Israeli army destroys departure hall at Rafah crossing: security sources – Xinhua){kind=link}