Egypt's siege of Gaza continues

For the fifth consecutive day, Egypt is not allowing anyone into or out of Gaza.

Palestine Today reports that Egypt is also not allowing Gazans to fly into the Cairo airport, including pilgrims visiting Saudi Arabia.

The World Bulletin has more:

Palestinians trying to return home to the Gaza Strip via Cairo airport are being deported by Egyptian authorities to the countries they flew in from, at their own expense, reported Electronic Intifada.

The Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza, which is a six hour drive from Cairo airport, has been closed indefinitely, ever since the Egyptian army overthrew elected President Muhammad Morsi on 3 July after days of street protests.

In recent days, militant groups in Egypt’s Sinai peninsula have repeatedly attacked Egyptian army posts and checkpoints.

Yousef M. Aljamal, a writer and occasional Electronic Intifada contributor, was among those deported. Aljamal was returning home to Gaza from New Zealand, where he participated in the recent Conference on Palestine in Auckland.

Aljamal tweeted about his deportation from Cairo, back to the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur, where he had stopped in order to obtain an Egyptian visa.

He reported seeing other Palestinians sent back to Algeria, Jordan, Tunisia and Canada, among other countries.

Ma'an adds:

Dozens of Palestinians are being held at Cairo International Airport after Egypt closed its border with the Gaza Strip.

Palestinians flying into Cairo airport have been forced to either return to the countries they flew in from, or wait in deportation rooms at the airport.

Passenger Ahmad al-Jamal was taken for medical treatment on Monday after going on hunger strike at the airport, other passengers said.

Meanwhile, hundreds of Palestinians are stranded on the Egyptian side of Rafah crossing, waiting for the terminal to reopen.

Over 900 pilgrims are stuck in Saudi Arabia after performing the Umrah pilgrimage. They are not allowed to fly into Cairo as they will be stuck there until Egypt reopens the Rafah terminal.

Travelers said Egyptian airlines were refusing to let Palestinians board due as they would not be able to transit to Gaza.

Meanwhile, Israel is sending 330 trucks of supplies to Gaza today.

Last week, 2,952 people crossed the Erez crossing between Israel and Gaza. Over one third of them were merchants and businessmen, far more than medical patients.