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A handful of ailing and injured Gazans have begun crossing into Egypt for medical care, following Israel’s decision to partially reopen Rafah, the Palestinian territory’s border post.
About 150 individuals were expected to depart from Gaza on Monday, while 50 others were set to enter, as reported by Egyptian authorities. This development comes more than 20 months after Israeli forces, engaged in conflict within Gaza, had previously closed this passage.
“So far, three ambulances have arrived with several sick and wounded individuals. They underwent immediate screening upon arrival to determine which hospital would best suit their needs,” an Egyptian health official shared with Agence France-Presse (AFP).
The Rafah border crossing is Gaza’s sole route to the outside world that doesn’t pass through Israel, serving as a crucial link for both human and material transport.
This limited reopening follows a report from Gaza’s civil defense, detailing a deadly series of Israeli airstrikes over the weekend. The Israeli military described these actions as a response to Hamas fighters breaching the October truce by emerging from a tunnel in Rafah city.
Both Israel and Hamas have accused each other of violating the fragile US-brokered ceasefire agreement since it came into effect.
A ‘window of hope’
Mahmud, a 38-year-old leukaemia patient from Gaza City, said he felt lucky to be able to travel to Egypt for treatment after receiving approval from Israel to go with his sister.
“In Gaza, there is no treatment and no life … Of course, I am lucky, but I am still sad because my father and mother are still in Gaza,” he told AFP.
Ali Shaath, the head of a Palestinian technocratic committee established to oversee the day-to-day governance of Gaza, said Rafah’s reopening offered a “window of hope” for the territory.
The partial resumption began on Sunday in a tightly restricted pilot phase that did not involve travel of people, and came after months of appeals from aid groups.
Khaled Mogawer, governor of North Sinai — which includes the Egyptian side of Rafah — said on Egypt’s state-linked AlQahera News that 50 Palestinian patients and 84 of their companions were expected to enter Egypt on Monday.
Israeli state broadcaster Kan reported that the crossing would be open for about six hours daily, while AlQahera News said the Egyptian side would remain open “round the clock”.
‘I will hug my mother’
Abdul Rahim Mohamed, 30, said he was eagerly awaiting the return to Gaza of his mother, who had left for cancer treatment in Egypt in March 2024.
“Two days ago, she was informed she could return to Gaza and told me on the phone, ‘Come and wait for me at the crossing,’” he told AFP.
“I am very happy today … I will hug my mother,” he added.
Rafah lies in an area held by Israeli forces following their withdrawal behind a so-called “Yellow Line” under the terms of the US-brokered ceasefire, in effect since 10 October.
Israeli troops still control more than half of Gaza, while the rest remains under Hamas authority.
The EU’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas said the opening of the crossing “marks a concrete and positive step in the peace plan” for the territory, where humanitarian conditions remain dire.
The Rafah crossing had been briefly opened in early 2025, but has been largely shut since it was seized by Israeli forces in May 2024.
Steve Witkoff, the US envoy to the Middle East who had a hand in negotiating the ceasefire deal, will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday, an Israeli official said, without confirming the location or subject of the talks.
Witkoff and fellow envoy Jared Kushner met with Netanyahu in late January and reportedly pushed for Rafah’s reopening.
No aid entry
The director of Gaza City’s Al-Shifa Hospital, Mohammed Abu Salmiya, said there were 20,000 patients in the territory in urgent need of treatment, including 4,500 children.
AlQahera News, citing Egypt’s health ministry, reported that 150 hospitals and 300 ambulances had been prepared to receive Palestinian patients.
It said 12,000 doctors and 30 rapid deployment teams had been allocated to work with those transferred.
The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), the Israeli military unit that oversees humanitarian coordination, made no mention of allowing in a long-hoped-for surge of aid for Gaza.
Israel had previously tied Rafah’s reopening to the return of the remains of Ran Gvili, the last Israeli hostage held in the territory. His body was recovered and buried last week, prompting Israel to announce the phased reopening.
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