In 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. In October 2014, the Egyptian government announced plans to relocate the population and completely demolish the city in order to enlarge the buffer zone between Egypt and Gaza. Between July 2013 and August 2015, Egyptian authorities demolished at least 3,255 residential, commercial, administrative, and community buildings along the border, forcibly evicting thousands of people. In June 2015 Egypt completed the digging of a ditch at the Rafah Crossing Point, 20 meters wide by 10 meters deep. It is located two kilometers from the border with Gaza outside of Rafah City and part of the enlarged buffer zone. Expansion of the trench along with watchtowers was planned.
Economy
Rafah is in a Mediterranean climate zone and agriculture thrives. Due to rain, hail and sleet; the city has plentiful sources of water for agriculture. Mediterranean fruits and crops are dominant, such as: peaches, olives, apples, citrus fruits, dates, grapes, vegetables, strawberries and peppers. Smuggling to the Gaza Strip has been a major source of income for Bedouin tribesmen, using over 1,200 smuggling tunnels to smuggle food, weapons and other goods into Gaza.
Climate
Like east Mediterranean cities and Egypt's north coast but wetter, it is characterised by hot dry summers and mild rainy winters. The temperature during summer can be around during daytime, and rarely exceeds due to the influence of the sea. Winters range from mild to cool during the day and chilly during the night and temperatures dip below very often. Rainfall is average with sometimes hail, sleet and rarely snow takes place. Köppen-Geiger climate classification system classifies its climate as hot semi-arid. Rafah, Alexandria, Abu Qir, Rosetta, Baltim, Kafr el-Dawwar and Mersa Matruh are the wettest places in Egypt.
