Egypt’s Rafah border crossing with the besieged Gaza Strip has been a site of hope and despair in the unprecedented aftermath of Hamas’ deadly October 7 attack on southern Israel. For VOA, photojournalist Hamada Elrasam captured the Egyptian side of this crucial passageway on November 29, the last day of the weeklong “humanitarian pause” across the crisis-ravaged Strip. Written in collaboration with Elle Kurancid.
Continuing War Casts Long Shadow Over Egypt-Gaza Border
- By Hamada Elsaram
- Elle Kurancid

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Aid flights from the Gulf states, the European Union, and the United Nations' migration agency are unloaded inside Al-Arish airport, near the Egypt-Gaza border. Al-Arish, Egypt, Nov. 29, 2023.

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Egyptian Red Crescent volunteers receive the life-saving shipments in Al-Arish as relief agencies worldwide warn of widespread hunger in aid-reliant Gaza and more civilian deaths from diseases than bombings.
![Mohamed Hassan Nossier, a technical consultant with the Egyptian Red Crescent, says, “The aid [that has been entering Gaza] is only 10% of what is needed.”](https://gdb.voanews.com/01000000-c0a8-0242-1021-08dbf4c6c98b_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Mohamed Hassan Nossier, a technical consultant with the Egyptian Red Crescent, says, “The aid [that has been entering Gaza] is only 10% of what is needed.”

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Aid trucks wait at the Rafah border crossing, Egypt, the only operational route into Gaza. The lifeline was effectively cut after Hamas’ October attack, leaving over two million people with limited water, food, fuel, and medical supplies.