Rafah crossing reopens to two-way traffic after 2-year closure: Reports
Gaza’s Rafah border with Egypt has reopened for limited traffic. Both Reuters news agency and The Associated Press reported the opening citing unnamed officials.
The reopening of the Rafah crossing will be limited with Israel demanding intensive security checks for Palestinians entering and exiting. Israel and Egypt are expected to impose caps on the number of travellers.
Rafah’s reopening is an important requirement under the first phase of President Trump’s broader peace plan for the Strip.
An unnamed Israeli security official said European monitoring teams arrived at the crossing, which “has now opened to the movement of residents, for both entry and exit”, Reuters reported.
Process of medical evacuations likely to ‘take years’ under Israel’s parameters
After one day of trial and testing, today we’re expecting the exit of 150 people holding referrals from Gaza Health Ministry and the World Health Organization for medical evacuation outside of the Gaza Strip.
The lists are not available. The timing is not clear yet.
We saw a convoy of medics exiting the Palestine Red Crescent Society here in the Nasser Medical Complex. We tried to speak to some of the medical staff. They confirmed that today there is going to be a convoy of 150 individuals exiting Gaza – 50 patients and for each one there are two family members joining them.
But again there is so much ambiguity in the transfer process given the mechanism installed yesterday, the screening process, the timing, the criteria set by the Israeli military.
When we compare all of this to the actual number with medical referral documents who are desperate for evacuation, the process is likely to take years for the more than 20,000 Palestinians desperate for immediate treatment abroad.
In the past few days, we spoke to people who are very concerned about the fact that a medical referral does not mean they’re automatically evacuating, because they will be still waiting for the security clearance by the Israeli military.
And the longer it takes, the riskier it gets for these critically ill people.
Only 50 Palestinians to exit, 50 to enter Gaza on first day: Report
Egyptian and Israeli security officials say Gaza’s Rafah crossing with Egypt has reopened for limited traffic, a key step as the peace process moves ahead. An unidentified Egyptian official told The Associated Press 50 Palestinians will cross in each direction on the first day of its operation.
State-run Egyptian media also confirmed the opening.
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 and a small Palestinian presence.
Israeli troops seized the Rafah crossing in May 2024 calling it part of efforts to combat Hamas arms-smuggling. The crossing is a vital lifeline for Palestinians in Gaza to the outside world.
