On the day it did, Israel allowed just five patients and seven relatives to leave (around 20,000 Gazans need urgent medical treatment abroad). Of the 50 people registered to return to Gaza that day, only three women and nine children were let in.

The crossing has been completely closed to Palestinians in Gaza since May 2024.

Israeli troops seized the Rafah border crossing in May 2024. The reopening marks progress toward the second phase of the U.S.-backed ceasefire deal.

Despite the reopening of Rafah, Israel is still limiting the entry of foreign and Israeli journalists and insisting on supervising their visits. Israel fully reopened the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt on Monday for pedestrians,

Gaza's Rafah border, the only crossing connecting the besieged Palestinian enclave with Egypt, reopened on Monday for a limited number of travellers on foot after being sealed shut by Israel for nearly a year.

A dozen Palestinian returnees were allowed into Gaza from Egypt late Monday after the long-awaited reopening of the Rafah border crossing was marred by delays. Their arrival came hours after a small group of medical evacuees was ferried from the territory into Egypt.

Gaza's Rafah crossing reopens with Egypt under ceasefire, allowing 50 Palestinians daily passage for medical evacuations after nearly two years closed.

The only crossing that connects Gaza with Egypt has reopened. The move will allow residents to leave for medical care or return to homes and families in the territory.

Al-Shifa Hospital director says blocking medical evacuations through Rafah crossing could be ‘death sentence’ for many.