2004 Israeli operation in Rafah

On 23 January 2008, Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip set off an explosion near the Rafah border crossing, destroying part of the 2003 wall. The United Nations estimates that as many as half the 1.5 million population of the Gaza Strip crossed the border into Egypt seeking food and supplies. Due to fears that militants would acquire weapons in Egypt, Israeli police went on increased alert.Egypt had closed the Rafah border crossing in June 2007, days before the Hamas took control of Gaza at the end of the Fatah-Hamas conflict; The breach followed a blockade of the Gaza Strip by Israel beginning in part that same June, with fuel supply reductions in October 2007. A total blockade had begun on 17 January 2008 following a rise in rocket attacks on Israel emanating from Gaza.Although Israel demanded Egypt reseal the border due to security concerns, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak ordered his troops to allow crossings to alleviate the humanitarian crisis, while verifying that the Gazans did not attempt to bring weapons back into Gaza. In five days, Gazans spent some US$250 million in the North Sinai Governorate's capital of Arish alone. The sudden enormous demand there for staple products led to large local price rises and some shortages. On 24 January, the United Nations Human Rights Council condemned Israel for the fifteenth time in less than two years, calling the blockade collective punishment. However, the proceedings were boycotted by Israel and the United States. On 27 January, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert promised that Israel would no longer disrupt the supply of food, medicine and necessary energy into the Gaza Strip. Meanwhile, President Mubarak announced plans to meet separately with representatives of Hamas and Fatah in order to come to a new border control agreement.On 3 February, Gaza's Foreign minister, Mahmoud al-Zahar, announced that Hamas and Egypt would cooperate in controlling the border without Israeli control, "perhaps jointly with Abbas". Abbas' Government said that Egypt had agreed to restore the 2005 border agreement giving Abbas control over the Rafah crossing, but excluding Hamas. Israel, on the other hand resisted Abbas' control of any crossing point. The border was closed—except to travelers returning home—eleven days after the breach.

Yazan al-Kafarneh (Arabic: يزن الكفارنة) was a Palestinian boy with cerebral palsy who died from malnourishment on 4 March 2024, aged 10. He died during the ongoing Gaza Strip famine caused by the tightening of the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip during the Gaza war. He became a face for the children in Gaza and the Gaza Strip famine, with his image used by politicians and international organizations.

The Mohammed Yousef El-Najar Hospital (Arabic: مستشفى الشهيد أبو يوسف النجار) is a hospital in Rafah, Gaza Strip, Palestine.

Canada Camp was a Palestinian refugee camp in the northern Sinai near Rafah, formed in 1972 and evacuated in 2000. The Camp was named after the Canadian contingent of the United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF I), which formerly had a camp at the location. Most refugees were relocated to Tel al-Sultan in southern Gaza.

The Battle of Raphia, also known as the Battle of Gaza, was fought on 22 June 217 BC near modern Rafah between the forces of Ptolemy IV Philopator, king and pharaoh of Ptolemaic Egypt and Antiochus III the Great of the Seleucid Empire during the Syrian Wars. It was one of the largest battles of the Hellenistic kingdoms and of the ancient world, and determined the sovereignty of Coele Syria.

Rafah (Arabic: رفح, IPA: [ˈɾɑfɑħ]) is a city in North Sinai and Egypt's eastern border with the Gaza Strip. It is the capital of Rafah center in North Sinai Governorate, and is situated on the eastern Mediterranean coast of Egypt. Rafah is the site of the Rafah Border Crossing, the sole crossing point between Egypt and the Gaza Strip. The Egyptian government announced in early 2015 that it would raze the entire city and build a new settlement for its residents, in order to expand a security buffer between Egypt and Gaza Strip. The Egyptian military reportedly began bulldozing sections of Rafah in late 2014.

The Rafah Governorate (Arabic: محافظة رفح Muḥāfaẓat Rafaḥ) is a Governorate of Palestine in the southernmost portion of the Gaza Strip. Its district capital or muhfaza is the city of Rafah located on the border with Egypt. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the governorate had a population of 267,635 in mid-year 2022. It contains the closed down Yasser Arafat International Airport.

Rafah Camp (Arabic: مخيم رفح or معسكر رفح) is one of eight Palestinian refugee camps in the Gaza Strip. It is located in the Rafah Governorate along the Gaza–Egypt border. It was established in 1949 and currently forms part of the city of Rafah. During the period of its establishment, it was the largest refugee camp in the Gaza Strip; however its population has decreased due to migration to the Tall as-Sultan camp, an extension of Rafah camp, which was set up to absorb refugees repatriated from Canada Camp. According to the UNRWA, the camp has a population of 99,000 inhabitants, This figure includes (in contrast to PCBS census data) Tall as-Sultan. The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics 2017 census listed 36,550 residents in the camp. The camp is the second largest refugee camp in Palestine. There are 31 schools (20 primary, 11 secondary) run by the UNRWA.

On 16 October 2024, during their operations in the Gaza war, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) troops killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar. His killing was the result of a routine patrol and a chance encounter in the southern Gazan city of Rafah. He had been one of Israel's most wanted men after the 7 October Hamas-led attack on Israel. In the lead-up to the shootout, members of the 828th Bislamach Brigade reported activity they deemed suspicious and received orders to engage. When their drone spotted three militants leaving a building, the soldiers fired upon them, not knowing that Sinwar was among them. The militants scattered, with Sinwar entering a nearby building alone. A firefight ensued, in which an IDF soldier was severely injured. An IDF tank fired at Sinwar's location and troops advanced into the building, but they pulled back after he threw grenades at them. IDF then sent the drone to survey the interior, detecting the injured Sinwar, his identity still unknown to engaging troops. After entering again the following day, they found Sinwar's body in the wrecked building and suspected it could be his, based on resemblance. They cut a finger from the body and sent it to Israel for identification purposes; later in the day, the body was dispatched as well. Sinwar's body was identified through dental records and DNA testing, and his death was confirmed by Israeli officials soon afterward. An Israeli pathologist reported that the body showed various injuries from different causes, and that Sinwar died from being shot to the head, causing severe traumatic brain injury. Hamas also acknowledged his death on 18 October. In the subsequently released footage made by the Israeli drone, seen by many, Sinwar is seen wounded as he throws a stick at the drone. Some in Israel characterized the imagery as showing defeat, while Sinwar's supporters interpreted his conduct as emblematic of defiance. Critics questioned Israel's choice to release the footage in the first place, based on concerns that it contributes to Sinwar's post-mortem heroization. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the killing of Sinwar "settled the score", but warned the war would continue with full force until Israel's hostages were returned. U.S. president Joe Biden stated "This is a good day for Israel, for the United States, and for the world", comparing Sinwar's death to the killing of Osama bin Laden and emphasizing that it presents an opportunity for a "day after" in Gaza without Hamas. In Hamas's statement confirming Sinwar's death, Basem Naim said: "Hamas becomes stronger and more popular with each elimination of its leaders. It hurts to lose people, especially unique leaders like Yahya Sinwar, but we are sure we will win in the end."

Tel al-Sultan or Tall as-Sultan (Arabic: معسكر تل السلطان) is one of eight Palestinian refugee camps in the Gaza Strip. It is located in the Rafah Governorate just north of Rafah city and Rafah Camp. It was established mainly to absorb refugees repatriated from Canada Camp.UNRWA does not make a distinction between Rafah Camp and Tall as-Sultan. The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics 2006 mid-year estimate for Tall as-Sultan is 24,418.

Al-Brazil is a neighborhood in the city of Rafah, in the Gaza Strip, one of the Palestinian territories. It lies in the South, by the border with Egypt. It was named after Brazil due to the presence of Brazilian soldiers in the United Nations Emergency Force which operated in Gaza in the 1950s-60s (the so-called Suez Battalion). There's another version of the origin of the name which sustains that it was only named Al-Brazil in the 1990s, when Brazil financed renovations there.

On 12 February 2024, Israel Defense Forces launched an assault on Rafah, a city in the Gaza Strip, killing over 83 people. The airstrikes destroyed at least one mosque and multiple inhabited homes, killing most or all of their occupants. Israeli government sources linked the airstrikes to its hostage rescue operation, Operation Golden Hand, describing the airstrikes as a diversion or "covering fire." Israel freed two hostages in that operation. The strikes came as Israel proposed a ground invasion of the city, which caused international concern. Casualties from the Israeli bombings began to reported by 2:30am and 20 were confirmed dead by 5:30am. The total number of deaths was estimated as at least 94 people according to the Palestinian Health Ministry and the Palestinian Red Crescent Society has estimated the death toll to be over 100. According to the Palestinian Center for Human Rights, which pulled information from Rafah hospitals the dead included at least 27 children and 22 women. The Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor compiled a list of 83 people killed, of whom 29 were children and another third were women (as identified by their names).