The Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) affirmed in an official statement on Thursday that the border crossing between Egypt and Gaza, known as the “Rafah Crossing”, was operational and has not been closed.
The ministry stated: “The Arab Republic of Egypt, contrary to inaccurate information being circulated that is not grounded in reality, emphasizes that the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip is open and has not been closed at any point since the onset of the current crisis.”
The Egyptian MoFA clarified that the “destruction of its [Rafah Crossing] main facilities on the Palestinian side due to repeated Israeli bombardment hampers its normal operation.”
The Ministry concluded its statement by calling on the state of Israel to “avoid targeting the Palestinian side of the crossing so that restoration and repair efforts can succeed, enabling it to function as a lifeline to support our Palestinian brethren in the Strip.”
It was earlier reported that, Hisham Edwan, the liaison officer on the Palestinian side of Egypt’s Rafah Crossing told Safa News Agency that the Egyptian authorities will open the Rafah Crossing for three days starting from August 30, 2016 to allow the passage of Palestinian pilgrims to Saudi Arabia to perform the annual Hajj rituals.
Rafah to open end of the month for the people of Gaza who plan to go for Hajj can actually get out to go to Mecca. In shaa Allah.
— Rina Andolini (@RinaAndolini) August 8, 2016
Commenting on the mechanism for the passage of pilgrims, Edwan noted that Palestinian passports with visas will arrive from the Saudi Embassy in Egypt tomorrow. The crossing will open on Tuesday for three days.
He stated that a meeting at the Ministry of Religious Affairs in Gaza will take place to organize the Hajj season.
Speaking of allowing Palestinians stuck in Egypt to return to Gaza during the three-day opening, Edwan clarified that no information was available on whether Egypt would allow this or not.
 affirmed in an official..){kind=link}