Rafah Crossing on the Gaza-Egypt Border Reopens After Two Years

Illustration of an ambulance carrying a patient from Gaza to Egypt. (Wikimedia Commons/UNRWA/Ashraf Amra)

JAKARTA - The Rafah crossing on the border between the Gaza Strip, Palestine and Egypt has reopened as part of a "pilot operation" after almost two years of closure.

"The Rafah crossing has been opened in a pilot operation," Israel's daily Yedioth Ahronoth reported, quoted by Anadolu (2/2).

"According to estimates, the movement of people will really start tomorrow (Monday) in both directions, with about 150 people expected to leave the Gaza Strip every day, compared to about 50 people who will return there," he added.

The newspaper said Palestinians who left Gaza during the Israeli war would only be allowed to return to the territory through the terminal.

"Israel will monitor the work at the terminal remotely using surveillance equipment, not directly by Israeli soldiers," he added.

The daily said Egypt would send Israel a daily list of people who would cross the border in both directions for the next 24 hours.

Israel "will allow a small number of injured Palestinians to leave the border if they want, and in principle, all those who leave will be allowed to return," the newspaper added.

Meanwhile, the Egyptian Government media Al-Qahera reported that Cairo will begin moving Palestinian patients from the Gaza Strip to Egyptian hospitals through the Rafah border on Monday to receive medical treatment.

"Ambulances are being deployed in large numbers on the Egyptian side of the border in preparation for receiving patients from Gaza, as hospitals across Egypt step up preparedness measures," the channel added.

Furthermore, the channel said that Egyptian hospitals are on high alert to receive Palestinian patients. It said that the transfer process would be carried out under an agreed mechanism, adding that the Palestinian side of the Rafah border would be officially operated on Monday.

"The Egyptian Ministry of Health has sent supplies and medical equipment to conduct the necessary examinations for patients coming from Gaza," the report said.

It added that the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing remains open 24 hours a day and operates at full capacity to facilitate transfers.

There was no immediate official statement from Israeli, Egyptian or Palestinian authorities on the report.

As a vital lifeline for humanitarian aid, Israel seized the Rafah crossing in May 2024, almost nine months after Tel Aviv's brutal war on the Gaza Strip.

Originally, Rafah was scheduled to reopen in October under the first phase of the ceasefire agreement. However, Israel refused to do so until they received the last remaining prisoners in Gaza, which materialized last week.