The Latest | Blasts, gunfire heard near Rafah crossing as it remains closed under Israeli control

By The Associated Press

Gaza’s vital Rafah crossing remained closed early Wednesday after an Israeli tank brigade seized it the day before. Associated Press journalists heard sporadic explosions and gunfire in the area overnight, including two large blasts early Wednesday. Rafah has been a vital conduit for humanitarian aid since the start of the war and is the only place where people can enter and exit. Israel now controls all of Gaza’s border crossings for the first time since it withdrew troops and settlers from the territory nearly two decades ago. Gaza’s Health Ministry says at least 46 patients and wounded people who had been scheduled to leave for medical treatment have been left stranded. The U.N. says northern Gaza is already in a state of “full-blown famine.”