Egypt’s Armed Forces will send at least 500 tons of food and medical supplies to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, a statement by the Military said on Friday. The announcement came hours after Egypt had shut down its Rafah border crossing with Gaza one day after it had opened it to allow Palestinians injured to seek medical treatment. In statements to Ma’an News Agency, spokesperson of Gaza’s Interior Ministry condemned the decision by Egypt, stating that buses and ambulances had been waiting to cross onto Egyptian territory for treatment. The closure of the crossing came as security forces thwarted attempts to smuggle 20 rockets from Gaza through tunnels in Rafah. Security sources told Aswat Masriya that violent clashes broke out between Egyptian soldiers and Palestinian “extremists” in Rafah following attempts to smuggle rockets and other weaponry. The rockets, sources told Aswat Masriya, were to be used to target Israeli and Egyptian forces. State media meanwhile reported that Egyptian authorities shut down the crossing due to “extremely dangerous” and “militant” activity in Arish and Rafah. The CNN’s Ian Lee added that security sources have been given ‘shoot on sight’ orders between checkpoints…
