Abdel

Intense shelling and gunfire rocked Rafah in southern Gaza on Thursday, after Israel declared it had seized a strategic corridor along the Palestinian territory's border with Egypt.

Israel launched its military incursion into Rafah in early May despite international objections over the safety of civilians sheltering in the city.

Doubts over the possible causes behind the crash of the Kogalymavia airplane in Egypt's Sinai peninsula last week remain as different suggestions have been expressed by the Russian airline, investigators, authorities and intelligence sources.

According to French aviation officials familiar with the investigation, the crash was not due to technical failures, the BBC reports.