Abu Ramadan said at a briefing with the Association of Accredited Correspondents at the United Nations (ACANU) that he hopes the international community and, in particular, the United States will put pressure on Israel to have the crossing reopened for humanitarian aid.
About three weeks ago, the Israeli military established control over the Palestinian side of the Rafah checkpoint, through which humanitarian aid came from Egypt to the Gaza Strip.
On Sunday, Israel struck a refugee camp northeast of Rafah. The Palestinian civil defense service said that at least 40 people died and dozens were injured as a result. On Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the airstrike on the refugee camp a "tragic incident," adding that an investigation is underway. The Israel Defense Forces said that it used "precise munitions."
Israel sent troops into the city of Rafah on May 7, seven months after an attack by Palestinian movement Hamas on Israeli territory unleashed the worst escalation of conflict in the Gaza Strip in decades. Israel's war cabinet vowed to expand the operation in Rafah until it accomplished its declared goal of eliminating all Hamas fighters.