First group of Palestinians returning from Egypt arrives at Rafah crossing

ISTANBUL

The first group of Palestinians returning from Egypt arrived at the Rafah border crossing on Monday morning on their way to the Gaza Strip, according to Egyptian media.

Al-Qahera News Channel reported that the group reached the crossing, with video footage showing Palestinians gathered at the terminal, though they had not yet entered Gaza.

The Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing began operating on a trial basis on Sunday after being fully closed for more than 18 months due to Israeli restrictions.

Israeli media reported that around 50 Palestinians are expected to enter Gaza, while approximately 150 patients and their companions are scheduled to leave the enclave for medical treatment in Egypt. Gaza health officials estimate that nearly 22,000 patients are awaiting the full reopening of the crossing.

Israel has controlled the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing since May 2024, during its military campaign in Gaza that began in October 2023.

During a ceasefire in January 2025, Israel temporarily reopened the crossing to allow patients and wounded Palestinians to leave Gaza for treatment abroad but closed it again after resuming military operations in March.

Israel was supposed to reopen the crossing during the first phase of the ceasefire agreement that took effect in October 2025, but failed to do so.

With US support, Israel’s campaign in Gaza has killed about 72,000 Palestinians and wounded more than 171,000, mostly women and children, and destroyed about 90% of civilian infrastructure.

Israel has violated the ceasefire daily, resulting in the deaths of 523 Palestinians, and has blocked the agreed-upon amounts of humanitarian aid from entering Gaza, where about 2.4 million people face severe humanitarian conditions.

*Writing by Lina Altawell