Israel reopens Gaza-Egypt border with tight restrictions

Hind Al Soulia - Riyadh - RAFAH —Israel reopened the border between Gaza and Egypt on Monday, allowing a small number of Palestinians to leave the enclave and some of those who escaped the war to return for the first time.

The crossing, the sole route in or out for nearly all of Gaza's more than 2 million residents., has largely been closed since May 2024, when the Gazan side was captured by Israeli forces.

The closure cut off an important route for wounded and sick Palestinians to seek medical care outside Gaza, with only a few thousand allowed out for medical treatment in third countries by other routes through Israel over the past year.

The reopening was supposed to happen during the first phase of US President Donald Trump's ceasefire plan between Israel and Hamas, which began in October. But Israel blocked it until the return of the body of the last Israeli hostage in Gaza, which happened last week.

It will come as a relief to many Palestinians who see it as a lifeline to the world, although there is frustration that only small numbers of people and no goods will be allowed through.

Around 20,000 sick and wounded Palestinians are waiting to leave Gaza for treatment.

A Palestinian source said only 50 patients, accompanied by two relatives, will be allowed to exit each day, and that 50 people who left Gaza during the war will be allowed to return.

The crossing will be run by supervisors from the EU and local Palestinian staff, while Israel will carry out remote security checks.

On Monday morning, an Israeli security official said the Rafah crossing had "now opened to the movement of residents, for both entry and exit" following the arrival of teams from the European Union Border Assistance Mission.

Al Qahera News TV, which is close to Egyptian intelligence, said the crossing had "received the first batch of Palestinians returning from Egypt to the Gaza Strip". The move came "as part of Egyptian efforts to facilitate movement through the crossing", it added.

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Mohammed Nassir, a Palestinian who had his leg amputated after being injured early in the war, said the crossing was a "lifeline".

"I need to undergo surgery that is unavailable in Gaza but can be performed abroad," he told AFP news agency.

On Sunday, Israeli authorities said a trial opening of the crossing had been carried out.

One Palestinian official familiar with the arrangements for the trial told the BBC that around 30 Palestinian staff members had arrived at the Egyptian side of the crossing, ahead of the initial operational phase.

The World Health Organization will oversee the transfer of patients from territory under Hamas control, transporting them by bus to the crossing over the "Yellow Line" and into territory controlled by the Israeli military, the BBC understands.

Trump's 20-point Gaza peace plan says the reopening of the Rafah crossing in both directions will be subject to the same mechanism implemented under a previous ceasefire deal in January last year.

Before being seized by Israel in 2024, the crossing was the main exit point for Palestinians allowed to leave during the war and a key entry point for humanitarian aid.

In December, the Israeli government said the Rafah crossing would open to allow Palestinians to leave Gaza. But Egypt said the crossing would only be opened if movement was allowed in both directions, enabling the return of around 30,000 displaced Palestinians who fled to Egypt or other countries during the war.

Even as the crossing reopened, Israeli strikes killed at least four Palestinians on Monday, including a three-year-old boy, in separate incidents in the north and south of the Strip. — Agencies