Egypt's Border Crossing With Gaza Remains Closed. Why?

As Israel bombards Gaza in retaliation for Hamas' attacks on Israel, thousands of Palestinians are lined up on the Gaza side of the Rafah crossing—the only crossing at the Egypt-Gaza border. On the Egypt side sit trucks full of aid supplies for the devastated region. Yet the crossing remains closed, despite diplomatic efforts to see it opened. What's going on? The coverage around the issue:

• Egypt's take: Egypt's foreign minister told the BBC that "the Rafah crossing on our side is officially open," but due to airstrikes that have hit the area, it is not safe for aid convoys to pass through. He says the roads are also too damaged for trucks to drive on. At least 49 people at the crossing or in a nearby town were killed by airstrikes Tuesday, Time reports. ABC News reports at least four airstrikes have hit the area.
• Israel's take, according to Egypt: The foreign minister adds that "Until now, unfortunately, the Israeli government has not taken a position to allow the opening of the crossing from the Gaza side for the entry of aid or the exit of nationals of [other] countries."
• The situation on the ground: Despite the official word from Egypt, the take from most media outlets is that the crossing is for all intents and purposes closed—and the BBC points out it's long been that way, since before the Israel-Hamas war. "Many Palestinians have essentially accused Egypt of bolstering Israel's blockade of Gaza, which has been in place since Hamas took full power there in 2007," the outlet says.

• Two sides want different things: Egypt is not prepared to handle what could amount to hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees, and is concerned about the indefinite length of time—perhaps permanent—they'd need to remain in Egypt, analysts say. In order to allow foreigners and Palestinians with dual nationality through the crossing, the BBC reports, Egypt wants aid to be allowed into Gaza. But Israel wants to limit how much aid is allowed in, and wants Egypt to allow more Palestinians through the crossing than Egypt prefers. Egypt is also prepared to allow entrance to injured Palestinians in need of medical care.
• More on Egypt's side: As one analyst tells the New York Times, Egypt is concerned a mass influx of Palestinians could "revive the idea that Sinai is the alternative country for the Palestinians."
• US take: Early Monday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken had this to say after a meeting with Egypt's president, per the Wall Street Journal: "We have put in place, Egypt has put in place a lot of material support for people in Gaza, and Rafah will be reopened.We are putting into place—with the United Nations, with Egypt, with Israel, with others—the mechanism by which to get the assistance in and to get it to the people who need it."

• It's complicated: As CNN puts it, the opening of the crossing "may be a complicated matter given the number of parties involved. It would require the approval of Egypt and Hamas, which directly control the crossing, as well as an OK from Israel ... Egypt has demanded assurances that Israel won't bomb aid convoys."
• "Tumultuous history": For further reading, both CNN and ABC offer a rundown of the long and "tumultuous history" of the Rafah crossing.
• Americans at the border: Among those waiting in limbo at the border crossing are about 600 Americans. On Monday, the US Embassy in Jerusalem suggested Americans trapped in Gaza go there, adding to the confusion when they arrived to find it still closed, the New York Times reports.
• Humanitarian crisis: The situation is dire, with food, water, and other supplies running short; people crammed into small spaces together; no gas to boil water. "Money has no value," one man tells the Times. "There will be a big struggle over water and food and even medicines in two days."
• Palestinian refugees in America? Republicans don't want that, calling for a ban, NBC News reports. But, the outlet notes, it's already quite difficult for Palestinians to be allowed into the US as refugees because many of them must follow a different pathway than those from other places. "The 1951 Refugee Convention that ... defined the criteria for refugees around the world explicitly left out Palestinians living in Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza," the outlet explains.

(More Israel-Hamas war stories.)