Israel agrees to limited reopening of Rafah border crossing in Gaza

The Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt has been reopened by Israel for a limited number of people on foot, as fragile diplomatic efforts to stabilise the conflict inch forward.Israeli forces took control of the Rafah crossing – Gaza’s only crossing not shared with Israel – in May 2024, describing it as necessary to prevent weapons smuggling by Hamas. The move isolated the territory, cutting off a critical lifeline for Palestinians seeking access to medical care, travel and trade.Israel has made clear that all movement through the crossing will be subject to joint Israeli-Egyptian security screening and that, for now, only a small number of Gaza’s tens of thousands of wounded and ill Palestinians will be permitted to leave each day.According to an Egyptian official, speaking anonymously to the Associated Press, only 50 Palestinians will be permitted to cross in each direction on the first day of operations.Before the war, the Rafah crossing was Gaza’s sole window on to the outside world not controlled by Israel. Its reopening could ease access to medical care, allow limited travel abroad, and enable visits to family members in Egypt, where tens of thousands of Palestinians already live.Thousands of civilians have registered with the World Health Organization for medical evacuation. Gaza’s health ministry says at least 20,000 patients are waiting to leave. According to Médecins Sans Frontières more than one in five of them are children. The sick include more than 11,000 cancer patients.Israeli airstrikes on hospitals have reduced the Palestinian healthcare system to ruins. In March 2025, Israel destroyed Gaza’s only specialised cancer treatment hospital, the territory’s sole provider of oncology care. Since then, doctors have been pushed into makeshift clinics, operating with almost no resources, including the tools needed for diagnosis.According to health officials in Gaza, there are about 4,000 people with official referrals for treatment to third countries who are unable to cross the border.“I have appealed to humanitarian groups, to the WHO, to the Palestinian Authority – to anyone – so that I can leave, save my life, and reunite with my family,” Tamer al-Burai, 50, who has obstructive sleep apnoea and relies on a CPAP machine to breathe during sleep, told Reuters.For some, the reopening came too late. Dalia Abu Kashef, 28, died last week while waiting for permission to cross for a liver transplant. “We found a volunteer – her brother – who was ready to donate part of his liver,” her husband, Muatasem El-Rass, told Reuters. “We were waiting for the crossing to open so we could travel and do the surgery, hoping for a happy ending. But she deteriorated badly and died.”The WHO says 900 people, including children and cancer patients, have already died while awaiting evacuation.The limited reopening of the Rafah crossing also offers a rare opportunity for families torn apart by more than two years of war to reunite. Many families who fled to Cairo early in the war never expected to remain for so long.“I love Gaza, and I don’t see any other place that feels like home,” Mohammad Talal, 28, a currency trader whose home in Jabalia in northern Gaza was destroyed told Reuters. “Going back to live in a tent? I don’t care,” he said. “I can’t wait to take my father into my arms and place a kiss on his forehead.”The reopening is seen as a key step as the US-brokered ceasefire agreement moves into its second phase. Its first phase called for the exchange of all hostages held in Gaza for hundreds of Palestinians held by Israel, an increase in badly needed humanitarian aid and a partial pullback of Israeli troops.The second phase of the ceasefire deal is more complicated. It calls for the installation of a new Palestinian committee to govern Gaza, the deployment of an international security force, the disarmament of Hamas and taking steps to begin rebuilding.The EU’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, said the opening of the Rafah crossing “marks a concrete and positive step in the peace plan”, for the wartorn territory. “The EU’s civilian mission is on the ground to monitor crossing operations and support Palestinian border guards,” she wrote online.Reuters and Associated Press contributed to this report