On Tuesday, 14th August, Hebrew language media sources reported that leaders from Hamas criticized Egypt's security measures against the Gaza Strip, after an armed raid that led to the killing of 16 Egyptian soldiers near the border with Israel.

Although Palestinians reiterated that they were not involved in the attack, Egypt stepped up security around Gaza, leading to temporary closure of the Rafah border crossing.

A Hebrew broadcast published statements of the Internal Minister of Hamas, Fathi Hammad, who criticized the new Egyptian authorities and leveled accusations of ill-treatment of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

The broadcast claimed that the Hamas Internal Minister asked the Egyptian government to open Rafah crossing after it had been closed last week.

It added that some of Hamas leaders accused the Egyptian presidency for mistreating Palestinians in Gaza in the same way the ousted president Hosni Mubarak did.

The broadcast also quoted a press release issued by the Hamas Internal Minister Hammad in which he said that the Palestinians live under siege imposed by Israel and Egypt on the Gaza Strip and asked rhetorically "Why do we have to suffer now, in the era of revolution and democracy in Egypt?".