The Rafah crossing was closed by Egyptian authorities on Thursday evening despite an announcement of Wednesday that it would be open for four days.

Nine buses left Gaza on Thursday, according to the Palestinian borders and crossing committee, after which Egyptian authorities closed the border.

Earlier in May, the Rafah border was briefly opened and only several hundred of the more than 30,000 passengers registered to cross managed to pass through. Now, preference was given to passengers who did not make it through the crossing previously.

Spent yesterday at #Rafah. Thousands of desperate people wanting to cross. Only 2 'list' buses got through #Gaza pic.twitter.com/vMqkEDaObQ

— Sophie McNeill (@Sophiemcneill) June 2, 2016

Many of the passengers awaiting passage seek medical care and are forced to wait for the crossing to be opened. However, this has been done on a sporadic basis, leaving many untreated for long periods of time.

Egypt has upheld an Israeli military blockade on the Gaza Strip for the majority of the past three years, since the ouster of President Muhammad Morsi in 2013 and the rise to power of Abd al-Fattah al-Sisi in Egypt.

(MA’AN, PC)