Gaza’s Rafah border crossing reopens, allowing limited movement of Palestinians to and from Egypt

A limited number of Palestinians were able to travel between Gaza and Egypt on the Sunday after that Rafah crossing of Gaza reopened after a two-day shutdown, Egyptian state media reported. A key border crossing was opened last week for the first time since 2024, which is one of the key requirements of US-backed ceasefire.

The crossing was closed Friday and Saturday because of the chaos over its reopening, the AP reported.

Egypt’s Al Qahera TV channel said Palestinians began crossing both sides at noon on Sunday. Israel did not immediately confirm.

The Egyptian media also reported on Sunday that the country is preparing to receive another group of Palestinians who are injured or sick and need treatment in Egyptian hospitals.

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to travel to Washington this week, although the main topic of discussion will be Iran, his office said.

In the first four days of the opening of the road, only 36 Palestinians in need of medical assistance were allowed to go to Egypt, along with 62 friends, according to United Nations data, after Israel returned the body of the last hostage held in Gaza and several American officials visited Israel to press for the opening.

Palestinian officials say about 20,000 people in Gaza seek medical care that is unavailable in the war-torn area. Those who succeeded in crossing described delays and alleged mistreatment by Israeli forces and other groups involved in the crossing, including the Israeli-backed Palestinian militant group Abu Shabab.

A group of Palestinian patients and the injured met on Sunday morning in the courtyard of the Red Crescent Hospital in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, before going to the Rafah crossing with Egypt for treatment abroad, family members told the Associated Press.

Amjad Abu Jedian, who was wounded in the war, was scheduled to travel to Gaza for treatment on the first day of the crossing’s reopening, but only five patients were allowed to travel that day, said his mother, Raja Abu Jedian. Abu Jedian was shot by an Israeli sniper while building traditional bathrooms in the Bureij refugee camp in July 2024, he said.

On Saturday, his family received a call from the World Health Organization informing them that he is part of the group that will leave on Sunday, he said.

“We want them to take care of the patients (when they are discharged),” he said. “We want Israeli soldiers not to burden them.”

Israel’s defense ministry, which oversees the operation of the crossing, did not immediately confirm the opening.

A group of Palestinians also arrived on Sunday morning at the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing to return to the Gaza Strip, reported Al-Qahera News of Egypt’s satellite.

Palestinians who returned to Gaza in the first few days of the crossing described hours of delays and aggressive searches by Israeli authorities and Abu Shabab. European Union missions and Palestinian officials rush to cross the border, and Israel has its own remote inspection center.

The Rafah border crossing was reopened on February 2 as a key step in the current ceasefire agreement, which has halted more than two years of fighting between Israel and Hamas. However, cars were limited. Egyptian state-run media and an Israeli official confirmed at the time that the reopening was symbolic, as few people would be allowed to travel anywhere and no goods could enter.

The restrictions negotiated by Israeli, Egyptian, Palestinian and international officials meant that only 50 people would be allowed to return to Gaza each day, and 50 medical patients – and two companions each – would be allowed to leave, but very few people have crossed in both directions.

A vital lifeline for Palestinians in Gaza, the Rafah crossing was the only Palestinian area not controlled by Israel before the war. Israel occupied the Palestinian side of Rafah in May 2024, although crowding along this route was strictly prohibited even before that.