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By Brendan Cole
Senior Reporter
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Gaza’s border crossing with Egypt has reopened on Monday although few people will be allowed to travel in either direction and no goods will pass through it.
No one was seen crossing in or out of Gaza in the first hours of its reopening, according to The Associated Press, although an Egyptian official cited by the agency said 50 Palestinians were expected to travel in each direction on the first day.
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Why It Matters
Rafah was the main crossing for people moving in and out of Gaza before Israel’s war on the territory that followed the Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023.
Largely closed since Israel seized it in May 2024, its reopening will give hope to about 20,000 Palestinian children and adults needing medical care who hope to leave Gaza while thousands of other Palestinians outside the territory want to return home.
But the small amount of traffic being allowed passage suggests that the opening so far is mostly symbolic, while across the coastal territory violence continues, claiming the lives of three people, including a three-year-old child, according to reports.
What To Know
The Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt opened on Monday as part of the first phase of the U.S.-brokered ceasefire plan, according to the AP.
Israel has said it will join Egypt to vet people for exit and entry which will be overseen by European Union border patrol agents with a Palestinian presence. Kaja Kallas, vice president of the European Commission said on X that the bloc's civilian mission is on the ground to monitor crossing operations and support Palestinian border guards.
About 150 hospitals across Egypt are ready to receive Palestinian patients evacuated through Rafah, and "safe spaces" on the Egyptian side of the crossing have been set up to support evacuees.
However, a three-year-old Palestinian boy was killed Monday when Israel’s navy hit tents on Gaza’s southern city of Khan Younis, Palestinian hospital authorities said.
More than 520 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since the ceasefire went into effect on October 10, according to Gaza’s health ministry. The casualties are among the over 71,900 Palestinians killed since the start of Israel’s offensive, according to the ministry, cited by The Associated Press.
What People Are Saying
Faten Hamed Abu Watfa, 43, stranded in Egypt due to the crossing’s closure, told Reuters: "I am ready to enter Gaza, be searched and get tired…and see my children and my father safe and sound."
Mohammad Talal al‑Burai, 28, told Reuters: "Going back to live in a tent? I don’t care. I can’t wait to take my father into my arms and place a kiss on his forehead."
Kaja Kallas, vice president of the European Commission said on X: "For Gaza’s sick and wounded, the reopening is a lifeline. It will allow families to reunite after far too long apart."
What Happens Next
The Rafah crossing will operate for six hours a day and while the numbers of those exiting are limited, they will increase if the system is successful.
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