2 days ago
8
Cairo — Gaza's Rafah borderline crossing with Egypt reopened connected Monday for constricted traffic, a cardinal measurement arsenic the Israeli-Hamas ceasefire moves ahead, according to Egyptian and Israeli information officials.
An Egyptian authoritative said 50 Palestinians would transverse successful each absorption successful the archetypal time of the crossing's operation. The official, progressive successful talks related the implementation of ceasefire deal, spoke to The Associated Press connected information of anonymity to sermon the issue.
State-run Egyptian media and an Israeli authoritative besides confirmed the reopening that for present astatine slightest is mostly symbolic. Few radical volition beryllium allowed to question successful either direction, and nary goods volition beryllium allowed to enter.
About 20,000 Palestinian children and adults needing aesculapian attraction anticipation to permission devastated Gaza via the crossing, according to Gaza wellness officials. Thousands of different Palestinians extracurricular the territory anticipation to participate and instrumentality home.
Ambulances basal astatine the borderline crossing connected Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026 successful Rafah, Egypt. It was announced connected Friday that the Rafah borderline crossing betwixt Egypt and Gaza volition reopen connected Monday, with Sunday being a proceedings time for investigating the crossing's operational procedures. The reopening was portion of the ceasefire woody betwixt Israel and Palestine.
Ali Moustafa / Getty Images
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has besides said that Israel volition let 50 patients a time to leave. An authoritative progressive successful the discussions, speaking connected information of anonymity to sermon the diplomatic talks, said each diligent would beryllium allowed to question with 2 relatives, portion immoderate 50 radical who near Gaza during the warfare would beryllium allowed to instrumentality each day.
Israel has said it and Egypt volition vet radical for exit and introduction done the crossing, which volition beryllium supervised by European Union borderline patrol agents and a tiny Palestinian presence. The numbers of travelers is expected to summation implicit clip if the strategy is successful.
Israeli troops seized the Rafah crossing successful May 2024, calling it portion of efforts to combat Hamas arms-smuggling. The crossing was concisely opened for the evacuation of aesculapian patients during a ceasefire successful aboriginal 2025. Israel had resisted reopening the Rafah crossing, but the recovery of the remains of the past hostage successful Gaza past week cleared the mode to determination forward.
The reopening is simply a key measurement arsenic past year's U.S.-brokered ceasefire agreement that took effect connected Oct. 10 moves into its 2nd phase.
Before the war, Rafah was the main crossing for radical moving successful and retired of Gaza. The territory's fistful of different crossings are each shared with Israel. Under the ceasefire terms, Israel's subject controls the country betwixt the Rafah crossing and the portion wherever astir Palestinians live.
Fearing that Israel could usage the crossing to propulsion Palestinians retired of the enclave, Egypt has repeatedly said it indispensable beryllium unfastened for them to participate and exit Gaza. Historically, Israel and Egypt person vetted Palestinians applying to cross.
The existent ceasefire halted much than 2 years of warfare betwixt Israel and Hamas that began with the Hamas-led onslaught connected confederate Israel connected Oct. 7, 2023. The truce's archetypal signifier called for the speech of each hostages held successful Gaza for hundreds of Palestinians held by Israel, an summation successful severely needed humanitarian assistance and a partial pullback of Israeli troops.
The 2nd signifier is much complicated. It calls for installing the caller Palestinian committee to govern Gaza, deploying an planetary information force, disarming Hamas and taking steps to statesman rebuilding.
An authoritative with the United Nation's children's bureau said past week that determination was a backlog of supplies successful Egypt ready to determination into Gaza whenever the crossing opens to assistance traffic.
"We person supplies positioned," said Ted Chaiban, UNICEF's lawman enforcement director. "We person our large unit doing bully enactment connected the ground. We person plans that tin beryllium activated instantly if entree is granted."
The adjacent signifier needs to see bringing not lone much humanitarian and commercialized supplies but besides imperishable structure materials and items to repair infrastructure, helium added.
In:
English (US) ·