Reviving Connections: Gaza Border Crossing Set to Reopen After Years of Isolation

CAIRO – Movement resumed at the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt on Sunday as Israel announced the easing of travel restrictions that have kept the territory largely isolated for years. This move is a significant step towards implementing the Israel-Hamas ceasefire agreement.

Israel revealed that the Rafah crossing was opened on a trial basis. COGAT, the Israeli military body overseeing aid to Gaza, confirmed that preparations for its full operation are underway. The agency indicated that Gaza’s residents would soon be able to use the crossing once these preparations are finalized.

According to an Egyptian official, who requested anonymity because they are not authorized to brief the media, Palestinian security personnel entered through the Egyptian side of the crossing and proceeded to the Palestinian side. Their mission is to join a European Union delegation responsible for overseeing the movement of people in and out of the area. The official also mentioned that ambulances had passed through the Egyptian gate.

The leader of the newly formed Palestinian administrative committee, which manages day-to-day activities in Gaza, stated that travel in both directions is expected to commence on Monday.

Rafah, considered by Palestinians as their vital link to the outside world, has been largely closed since Israel took control in May 2024.

Few people will be allowed at first, and no goods allowed to cross. About 20,000 Palestinian children and adults needing medical care are hoping to leave war-devastated Gaza via the crossing, and thousands of other Palestinians outside the territory hope to return home.

Zaher al-Wahidi, head of the Health Ministry’s documentation department in Gaza, told The Associated Press that the ministry hasn’t yet been notified about the start of medical evacuations.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel will allow 50 patients a day to leave. An official involved in the discussions, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the diplomatic talks, said each patient would be allowed to travel with two relatives, while some 50 people who left Gaza during the war would be allowed to return each day.

Israel has said it and Egypt will vet people for exit and entry through the crossing, which will be supervised by European Union border patrol agents. The number of travelers is expected to increase over time if the system is successful.

Israeli troops seized and closed the Rafah crossing in May 2024, calling it part of efforts to combat Hamas arms smuggling. The crossing was briefly opened for the evacuation of medical patients during a ceasefire in early 2025. Israel had resisted reopening the Rafah crossing, but the recovery of the remains of the last hostage in Gaza last week cleared the way to move forward.

The reopening is a key step as last year’s U.S.-brokered ceasefire agreement, which took effect on Oct. 10, moves into its second phase.

Before the war, Rafah was the main crossing for people moving in and out of Gaza. Although Gaza has four other border crossings, they are shared with Israel. Under the ceasefire terms, Israel’s military controls the area between the Rafah crossing and the zone where most Palestinians live.

Fearing that Israeli could use the crossing to push Palestinians out of the enclave, Egypt has repeatedly said it must be open for both entry to and exit from Gaza. Historically, Israel and Egypt have vetted Palestinians applying to cross.

The current ceasefire halted more than two years of war between Israel and Hamas that began with a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. The truce’s first phase called for the exchange of all hostages held in Gaza for hundreds of Palestinians held by Israel, an increase in badly needed humanitarian aid and a partial pullback of Israeli troops.

The second phase is more complicated. It calls for installing a new Palestinian committee to govern Gaza, deploying an international security force, disarming Hamas, and taking steps to begin rebuilding.

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