Erez Crossing

Border crossing on the northern end of the Gaza Strip

Erez Crossing

מעבר ארז‎
معبر بيت حانون‎

Coordinates| 31°33′29.52″N 34°32′41″E﻿ / ﻿31.5582000°N 34.54472°E﻿ / 31.5582000; 34.54472
Carries| Pedestrians
Crosses| Israeli Gaza Strip barrier
Locale|  Erez
Beit Hanoun
Other name(s)| Beit Hanoun Crossing
Maintained by| Israel Defense Forces
Location
Blockade of the
Gaza Strip

* Goods allowed or banned
* Smuggling tunnels
* Electricity

Crossings

* Israel
* Erez
* Karni
* Kerem Shalom
* Egypt
* Rafah

2004–2009

* Philadelphi Accord
* Economic sanctions
* Fatah–Hamas battle
* Egypt–Gaza border breach
* Gaza War
* Viva Palestina
* Lifeline 3

2010–2022

* Freedom Flotilla
* Participants
* Ships
* Mavi Marmara
* Rachel Corrie
* Raid
* Reactions
* Legal assessments
* Turkel Commission
* Freedom Flotilla II
* participants
* Freedom Flotilla III
* Women's Boat to Gaza

2023–present

* Israeli total blockade of Gaza
* Israeli blockade of aid delivery to the Gaza Strip
* Kerem Shalom aid convoy looting
* 2024 Gaza Freedom Flotilla
* May 2025 drone attack on Gaza Freedom Flotilla
* June 2025 Gaza Freedom Flotilla
* Global March to Gaza
* Soumoud Convoy
* July 2025 Gaza Freedom Flotilla

Groups involved

* Hamas
* Israel
* COGAT
* Tsav 9
* support
* Fatah
* conflict
* reconciliation
* electricity
* ISIS-linked groups
* Egypt

* v
* t
* e

The Erez Crossing (Hebrew: מעבר ארז), also known as the Beit Hanoun Crossing (Arabic: معبر بيت حانون), is a border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Israel. It is located at the northern end of the Gaza Strip, between the Israeli kibbutz of Erez and the Palestinian city of Beit Hanoun.

Presently, it is the sole crossing point for individuals (as opposed to cargo) between the Gaza Strip and Israel by land, and is the second option for Gazans when the Rafah Crossing with Egypt is closed. Usage of the Erez Crossing is restricted to Palestinians living under the jurisdiction of the Palestinian National Authority, Egyptian citizens and nationals, and international aid officials. Israel permits Palestinian residents to travel via Erez in "exceptional humanitarian cases" with other exceptions in place for students and sportsmen travelling abroad, as well as merchants.[1][2][3] The Erez Crossing is managed by the Israel Defense Forces, unlike the Karni Crossing and the Kerem Shalom Crossing that are both managed by the Israel Airports Authority. The blockade of the Gaza Strip has had a significant impact on the crossing point, which is an opening in the Israeli Gaza Strip barrier.

## Facilities

[edit]

The terminal is a modern hangar-style building with an area of about 35,000 m2 (375,000 sq ft) and a capacity for handling 45,000 people per day. It was completed in 2007 at a cost of $60 million.[4]

## Location

[edit]

The Erez Crossing is part of a complex that formerly included the Erez Industrial Park. The Crossing connects Israel's Highway 4 with Gaza's Salah al-Din Road. Until the early 1970s, a railway line connecting Israel and the Gaza Strip also passed through the Crossing. Today, the railway has been dismantled in the Gaza Strip, and on the Israeli side Israel Railways' active railway line ends about 4.5 km northeast of the crossing, though in the future it may be re-extended to the Crossing to provide cargo service to the Gaza Strip.

Erez crossing viewed from kibbutz Erez.

## Movements

[edit]

Until September 2000, more than 26,000 Palestinian residents were able to travel to and through Israel daily (some 800,000 per month). After the start of the Second Intifada, this number dropped to less than 900 per day.[1] In 2004, there were 43,440 crossings at Erez into Israel monthly, on average. After the Hamas takeover of Gaza, the number dropped to 2,175 in 2008. After the Israel–Hamas ceasefire in 2014, the number increased to 15,000 per month in 2015.[2]

According to Gisha, 15,388 Palestinians used the Erez Crossing in January 2016 out of Gaza, the sole crossing. Of those, 2,896 were patients and their companions, 8,183 were merchants, and 4,309 were "others".[5]

Palestinian workers wait at the Erez Crossing to enter the Gaza Strip, July 2005.

## Gaza–Israel conflict

[edit]

### 2014

[edit]

On 20 July 2014, in response to reports that the 2014 Gaza War had caused a dire shortage of hospital beds in Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces opened IDF field hospital for Gazans at Erez Crossing.[6][7]

### 2015

[edit]

In April 2015, Al-Monitor wrote that Gazans are increasingly complaining about being blackmailed by Israeli security and intelligence services seeking to recruit Palestinian spies, by exploiting their need for work, money, medical treatment or travel. According to Col. Mohammed Abu Harbeed, information security specialist at the Gaza Interior Ministry, 70-80% of citizens passing through the Crossing were subject to recruitment attempts by Israel in 2014. He said they include merchants, patients, Gazans who are traveling for leisure purposes and students studying at foreign universities.[8] A father of a seven-year-old boy who wanted to cross through Erez for chemotherapy in an Israeli hospital was blackmailed by an Israeli officer. The father said the Israeli officer offered payment for a treatment in exchange for spying for Israel. After he had rejected the offer, he was denied an entry permit.[8] Al Mezan Center for Human Rights in Gaza revealed in September 2013 similar practices of arrest or pressure to let Gazans "choose between spying or returning to Gaza where they could die".[8] A Gazan merchant traveling via the Erez Crossing was offered financial support and significant tax benefits in exchange for giving him information on the security headquarters in Gaza.[8]

A woman who was sick and needed treatment was denied a travel request to the West Bank because she had a Jordanian passport, not a Palestinian one.[9]

In April 2015, Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor reported an increasing number of Palestinian businessmen being detained while seeking to cross into Israel via the Erez Crossing for routine trips. Israeli interrogators ask them questions about occupational backgrounds, social interactions and their affiliation with political parties. The human rights group found that intelligence operatives frequently attempt to force businessmen to disclose alleged information about armed factions within Gaza. They are humiliated and treated inhumanely and if they refuse to collaborate, their entry permits are taken away.[10]

### 2016

[edit]

Also, Human Rights and Democracy Media Centre (SHAMS) reported in January 2016, that Israel uses the Erez Crossing as a trap for Palestinian passengers. According to SHAMS, Israeli intelligence questions most of the Palestinian passengers with permits to use the crossing. The kidnapping of tens of passengers by Israel after questioning them was reported, some of them patients.[3]

### 2023-24 Hamas-Israel war

[edit]

* v
* t
* e

October 7 attacks

Groups involved

* Palestinian Joint Operations Room
* al-Qassam Brigades
* al-Quds Brigades
* National Resistance Brigades
* Mujahideen Brigades
* Maglan

Leaders and spokespersons

* Mohammed Deif
* Abu Obaida
* Yahya Sinwar
* Yoav Gallant

Israeli fighters

* Inbal Rabin-Lieberman
* Sagi Golan †
* Tank Girls

Locations

* Negev
* Gaza envelope
* Military Bases
* Gaza–Israel barrier
* Gaza Strip

Military and security targets

* Erez
* Kerem Shalom
* Sderot police station
* Paga [he]
* Nahal Oz
* Observers' Warnings [he]
* Bahad 4
* Sufa
* tank girls
* Re'im

Attacks on Towns

* Battle of Sderot
* Battle of Ofakim
* Rahat incursion

Attacks on Kibbutzim

* Be'eri
* Ein HaShlosha
* Kfar Aza
* Kissufim
* Alumim
* Holit
* Mefalsim
* Nahal Oz
* Nir Am
* Nir Oz
* Nir Yitzhak
* Nirim
* Sufa
* Zikim

Attacks on Moshavim

* Netiv HaAsara
* Yakhini

Outdoor events

* Nova music festival massacre
* Death Shelters
* Psyduck massacre
* Zikim Beach massacre

Hostages and killed

* Casualties
* Hostage crisis
* Alex Dancyg
* Noa Argamani
* Bibas family
* Oded Lifshitz
* Shani Louk
* Aner Shapira
* Hersh Goldberg-Polin
* Inbal Rabin-Lieberman

Prisoners of War

* Alleged confessions
* Sde Teiman

On the same day

* Bombing of the Gaza Strip
* targeting

Background

* History of the Gaza Strip
* History of Hamas
* Far-right politics
* Palestinian nationalism
* Political violence
* Right of armed resistance

Prior attacks

* Deif family killings
* 2014 Zikim attack
* 2014 Nahal Oz attack
* Israeli settler violence
* Israeli attacks on Gaza
* 1979 Nahariya attack

Allegations and propaganda

* Bearing Witness
* Videos of confessions
* Sexual violence
* Screams Without Words
* Screams Before Silence
* UNRWA and Israel
* October 7 genocide
* Gaza genocide
* Iron Sword War Memorial Day
* October 7 denial
* Nakba denial
* Temple denial
* Kan 7.10.360
* "Hurricane"
* Nova Festival Victims Memorial
* Hamas most wanted playing cards
* Red triangle

Gaza war

See also: Gaza war and October 7 attacks

During the October 7 attacks, as part of the Gaza war, Hamas's military wing the Al-Qassam Brigades took temporary control of the Erez Crossing, causing hundreds of Palestinian civilians to make their way to the crossing. [11][12][citation needed] The attack caused damage to the facilities at the crossing, and the Erez Crossing remained closed during the ensuing war until 1 May 2024, when it was reopened for aid transports heading into Gaza.[13]

## See also

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Erez crossing.

* Erez
* 2004 Erez Crossing bombing
* Daraj Tuffah
* Rafah

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b Exits of Palestinians to Israel and the West Bank via Erez Crossing Archived 2016-02-28 at the Wayback Machine. Gisha, January 2016
2. ^ a b Gaza Crossings' Operations Status: Monthly Update Archived 2016-07-29 at the Wayback Machine, OCHA oPt, February 2016. Source here Archived 2016-03-11 at the Wayback Machine
3. ^ a b Rights group: Erez crossing a trap for Palestinians Archived 2022-06-30 at the Wayback Machine. The Middle East Monitor, 7 January 2016
4. ^ Between Gaza and Israel, a Border Crossing in Need of Travelers Archived 2022-10-06 at the Wayback Machine. JODI RUDOREN, New York Times, 4 September 2014
5. ^ Graphs Archived 2016-03-05 at the Wayback Machine Exits of Palestinians to Israel and the West Bank via Erez Crossing. Gisha, January 2016 (point the mouse on the date)
6. ^ Miller, Elhanan (3 August 2014). "On Gaza border, an Israeli field hospital stands empty". Times of Israel. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
7. ^ Wilson, Simone (27 August 2014). "Why didn't Gazans use the IDF field hospital?". The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles. Retrieved 27 January 2019.
8. ^ a b c d Israel's spy recruitment puts Gazans in tough spot Archived 2021-02-13 at the Wayback Machine. Rasha Abou Jalal, Al-Monitor, 29 April 2015
9. ^ Will Israel's Erez crossing supersede Rafah? Archived 2019-02-05 at the Wayback Machine. Asmaa al-Ghoul, Al-Monitor, 9 June 2015
10. ^ New Euro-Mid report documents Israeli harassment at Erez border crossing Archived 2022-01-19 at the Wayback Machine. Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor, 12 April 2015
11. ^ "Hundreds of Palestinians head to Erez Crossing: Roya correspondent". en.royanews.tv. Retrieved 2023-10-07.
12. ^ "Israel shows major damage to Erez Crossing with Gaza following Hamas assault". Times of Israel. 17 October 2023. Retrieved 27 January 2024.
13. ^ "Israel reopens Erez crossing for Gaza aid trucks 7 months after it was destroyed by Hamas". Times of Israel. 2024-05-01. Retrieved 20 June 2024. (citing press agencies.)

* v
* t
* e

Israeli borders, crossings and checkpoints

Israel's
Mutually recognised
international borders
and demarcation lines|

|  Egypt|

* Taba Border Crossing
* Nitzana Border Crossing
* Netafim Border Crossing (closed)

|

Jordan|

* Yitzhak Rabin Crossing
* Jordan River Crossing
* Allenby Bridge1
* King Abdullah Bridge (destroyed)

Lebanon|

* Blue Line (demarcation line)
* Rosh HaNikra Crossing
* Fatima Gate (closed)

Crossings at or within Israeli-occupied territories

Gaza Strip1 and  Egypt|

* Rafah Border Crossing2

Gaza envelope and  Gaza Strip1|

* Erez Crossing
* Kerem Shalom crossing
* Karni crossing (closed)

Within the  Occupied West Bank1|

* Checkpoint 300
* in Bethlehem
* Huwara checkpoint
* Qalandia checkpoint

Golan Heights1 and the rest of  Syria|

* Purple Line (demarcation line)
* Quneitra Crossing (ceasefire line crossing)

1 Israeli-occupied territories, 2 Controlled by Israeli forces since May 2024.

* v
* t
* e

Gaza Strip

| History|

* Gaza Strip
* History of Gaza
* History of Hamas
* Khan Yunis massacre
* Egyptian occupation of the Gaza Strip
* see also: Israeli occupation of the Sinai Peninsula
* All-Palestine Government
* All-Palestine Protectorate
* Gaza Subdistrict in Mandatory Palestine
* Gaza District
* Beersheba Subdistrict
* Jerusalem Sanjak
* Destruction of cultural heritage during the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip
* Archaeological sites destroyed during the Gaza genocide  [ar]

|

Places in
Mandatory
Palestine|

* Gaza Subdistrict, Mandatory Palestine
* Territory acquired during Israel's war of independence
* Al-Majdal Asqalan (Ashkelon § State of Israel)
* Arab Suqrir
* Barbara
* Barqa
* al-Batani al-Gharbi
* al-Batani al-Sharqi
* Bayt 'Affa
* Bayt Daras
* Bayt Jirja
* Bayt Tima
* Bil'in
* Burayr
* Dayr Sunayd
* Dimra
* al-Faluja
* Hamama
* Hatta
* Hiribya
* Huj
* Hulayqat
* Ibdis
* Iraq al-Manshiyya
* Iraq Suwaydan
* Isdud
* al-Jaladiyya
* al-Jiyya
* Julis
* al-Jura
* Jusayr
* Karatiyya
* Kawfakha
* Kawkaba
* al-Khisas
* al-Masmiyya al-Kabira
* al-Masmiyya al-Saghira
* al-Muharraqa
* Najd
* Ni'ilya
* Qastina
* al-Sawafir al-Gharbiyya
* al-Sawafir al-Shamaliyya
* al-Sawafir al-Sharqiyya
* Simsim
* Summil
* Tall al-Turmus
* Yasur

| Refugee camps|

* Al-Shati (Beach camp)
* Bureij
* Deir al-Balah
* Jabalia
* Khan Yunis
* Maghazi
* Nuseirat
* Rafah
* Canada

|

| Cities|

* Gaza City
* Streets in Gaza City
* Ahmad Orabi Street
* Izz Ad Din Al Qassam Street
* Al-Jalla Street
* Jamal Abdel Nasser Street
* Omar Mukhtar Street
* Palestine Square
* Salah al-Din Road
* Suq Street
* Unknown Soldier's Square
* Wehda Street
* Gaza City
* Gaza City neighborhoods
* Judeide
* Nasser
* Old City
* Zaytun Quarter
* Daraj Quarter
* Rimal
* Sabra
* Al-Saha (As-Saha)
* Al-Saha
* al-Shati Camp
* Al-Shati refugee camp
* Sheikh Ijlin
* Sheikh Radwan
* Shuja'iyya
* Tuffah
* Tel al-Hawa
* Turukman
* Zeitoun
* Cities elsewhere in the Gaza Strip
* Bani Suheila
* Beit Hanoun
* Beit Lahiya
* Deir al-Balah
* Jabalia
* Khan Yunis
* Rafah

|

| Governorates of the Gaza Strip|

* Gaza
* Khan Yunis
* North Gaza
* North Gaza
* Deir al-Balah
* North Gaza
* Khan Yunis
* Rafah

|

Historic|

* Hamam al-Sammara
* Qasr al-Basha
* Qissariya Market
* Byzantine Gaza synagogue
* Archaeological sites destroyed during the Gaza genocide  [ar]

Cemeteries|

* Deir El Belah War Cemetery
* Gaza War Cemetery
* Israeli razing of cemeteries and necroviolence against Palestinians

Mosques|

* Gaza City:
* Aybaki Mosque
* Great Mosque of Gaza (Great Omari Mosque)
* Ibn Marwan Mosque
* Ibn Uthman Mosque
* Katib al-Wilaya Mosque
* Mahkamah Mosque†
* Ibrahim al-Maqadma Mosque attack
* Sayed al-Hashim Mosque
* Sham'ah Mosque
* Shaykh Zakariyya Mosque
* elsewhere:
* Abu Khadra Mosque
* Al-Shamah Mosque†
* Umm al-Nasr Mosque
* Zofor Domri Mosque

Churches|

* Gaza City:
* Saint Porphyrius Orthodox Church
* Church of Saint Porphyrius airstrike
* Holy Family Catholic Church
* Gaza Baptist Church†
* elsewhere in the Gaza Strip:

Institutions|

* Palestinian Legislative Council (destroyed in 2023)
* Palestinian Centre for Human Rights
* Al Mezan Center for Human Rights

Police
and courts|

* Capital punishment in the Gaza Strip
* Capital punishment in Palestine
* Faiq al-Mabhouh
* Police in the Israel–Hamas war
* Societal breakdown in the Gaza Strip during the Israel–Hamas war

Environment|

* Wadi Gaza
* Environmental impact of the Gaza war

Economy|

* Economy of the Gaza Strip
* Taxation in Palestine

Transport
and trade|

* Yasser Arafat International Airport
* Port of Gaza
* Gaza-Israel barrier
* Erez crossing
* Kerem Shalom crossing
* Egypt-Palestine relations
* Rafah crossing
* Blockade of the Gaza Strip
* Gaza smuggling tunnels

Culture and
recreation|

* Gaza City Gaza Museum of Archaeology
* Al-Bustan resort
* Bisan City tourist village
* Al Deira Hotel
* Faisal Equestrian Club
* Gaza Mall
* Al-Andalusia mall
* Palestine Stadium
* Rashad Shawa Cultural Center
* Roots Club
* As-Sadaka
* Gaza YMCA
* Gaza Strip

Education|

* Education in Gaza
* UNWRA schools
* Christian schools
* Gaza City:
* Al-Azhar University
* Islamic University
* Al-Aqsa University

Libraries|

* Deir al-Balah Municipality Public Library [ar]
* Gaza Municipality Public Library [ar]
* Khan Yunis Municipality Public Library [ar]
* Rafah Municipality Public Library [ar]
* Samir Mansour Library

Health care|

* Gaza Ministry of Health
* Gaza City:
* Al-Ahli Arab Hospital
* Al-Aqsa Hospital
* Al-Rantisi Hospital
* Al-Shifa Hospital
* Kamal Adwan Hospital
* Al-Awda Hospital
* Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital
* 2024 Gaza Strip polio epidemic

Occupation|

* Gush Katif
* Israeli unilateral disengagement
* Israeli occupation
* 2023 Israeli invasion
* Morag Corridor
* Netzarim Corridor
* Philadelphi Corridor

Visitors|

* Rachel Corrie
* Gaza Freedom Flotilla
* Gaza flotilla raid
* Antony Loewenstein
* Walkley Book Award #The Palestine Laboratory
* World Central Kitchen

| Demographics|

* Palestinian Christians
* Palestinian clans
* Doghmush clan
* History of the Jews in Gaza City
* Israeli settlers
* Israeli disengagement from the Gaza Strip
* Proposed Israeli resettlement of the Gaza Strip
* LGBT rights in the Gaza Strip
* Al Haq
* Al Qaws

|

| Births|

* 1985
* Ahmed Moor
* 1997
* Rouzan al-Najjar

|

Deaths|

* 2003
* March
* 16
* Rachel Corrie § Death
* MV Rachel Corrie
* 2009
* January
* 4
* Zeitoun killings
* 16
* Shurrab family
* 2012
* Al-Dalu family (12)
* 2014
* Deif and Al Dalu families (3 + 3)
* 2018
* June
* 1
* Killing of Rouzan al-Najjar
* 2023
* October
* 7
* Abu Qouta family
* November
* Bibas family (unconfirmed)
* December
* 15
* Samer Abu Daqqa
* 16
* Nahida and Samar Anton
* 2024
* January
* 29
* Hind Rajab and the Hamadeh family (9)
* July
* 3
* Mohammad Bhar

Category:Gaza Strip
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