Bullet-riddled cars, stray dogs at Israel's Gaza crossing

Nearly three months after Hamas’s bloody attack on Israel, stray dogs roam amid bullet-riddled cars at the country’s shuttered Erez crossing with the Gaza Strip.

Surrounded by high fences and with security cameras at every turn, the Erez crossing was once under constant guard by heavily-armed Israeli security forces.

But on October 7, the only crossing which enabled people to travel between Israel and Gaza was one of dozens of sites to come under attack by Hamas militants.

In rare images taken by AFP journalists on Wednesday, the fallout of that battle remains.

Cars are pockmarked with bullet holes in the abandoned parking area, while much of the tarmac has been ripped up.

“Welcome to Erez crossing point” reads a sign in Hebrew, Arabic and English, a pile of debris below.

Stray dogs and birds picked at the muddy ground outside the terminal, which once bustled with thousands of Gazans crossing into Israel after obtaining work permits following stringent Israeli background checks.

Palestinians with permits for medical treatment, diplomats and humanitarian workers were also among those able to pass through Erez before it was shut down with the outbreak of war.

In the past, those crossing from Gaza would go through a body scanner, while their belongings were searched behind the scenes, and lastly their documents were checked.

Erez crossing stands adjacent to a military base, where armoured vehicles were seen approaching on Wednesday.

On October 7, the Israeli military launched air strikes in the area and said “terrorists were thwarted at the Erez crossing”.

The army last month showed journalists a huge tunnel which came within 400 metres (1,300 feet) of the crossing.

A Hamas official, without elaborating said the tunnel, which could fit small vehicles, had “successfully” accomplished its mission.

The militant group’s shock October attack claimed the lives of around 1,140 people in Israel, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.

More than 22,300 people have since been killed in Israeli assault in Gaza, according to the latest data from the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.