JERUSALEM (JTA) — Egypt closed the border between Sinai and the Gaza Strip as clashes between its government security forces and protesters backing deposed President Mohamed Morsi continued for a second day.
The Rafah crossing was closed “indefinitely,” the French news agency AFP reported Thursday, citing an unnamed Egyptian security official. The crossing was closed due to fears of terrorist activity in the Sinai Peninsula.
Rafah is the only border crossing out of the Gaza Strip that is not controlled by Israel.
The death toll in the clashes has risen to at least 421, and the injured at more than 3,000, according to reports.
The violence began Wednesday after government security forces raided two major sit-in protests in Cairo calling for the reinstatement of Morsi.
On Tuesday, a rocket fired by terrorists affiliated with al-Qaida at the southern Israeli city of Eilat was intercepted by the Iron Dome anti-missile system.
Last week the Eilat airport was closed for several hours due to warnings by Egyptian officials about a terror attack from the Sinai.
