Rafah, Egypt 5.15

Rafah or Egyptian Rafah is an important 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.HistoryIn the Egyptian language of Ancient Egypt, the city was known as Rapia. The city has for significant periods been a part of the Egyptian Empire since the Pharaonic period. It was also a major location on the battle route towards Egyptian settlements in Anatolia and Levant.When Israel withdrew from the Sinai in 1982, Rafah was split into a Gazan part and an Egyptian part, dividing families, separated by barbed-wire barriers. The core of the city was destroyed by Israel and Egypt to create a large buffer zone.During the 2011 Egyptian protests, anti-government rioters attacked and killed three police officers in the town.