Israel permits limited reopening of Rafah; sick and wounded begin crossing to Egypt

Sick and wounded Palestinians began crossing into Egypt on Monday after Israel permitted a limited reopening of the Rafah border crossing, Egyptian officials said. About 150 people were due to leave and 50 to enter, more than 20 months after Israeli forces closed the crossing in May 2024.

Ambulances waited for hours at the border before ferrying patients across after sunset, footage from Egyptian state-run television showed. Gaza health officials say about 20,000 Palestinian children and adults needing medical care hope to leave via Rafah, and thousands outside Gaza hope to enter and return home.

Thousands of civilians have registered with the World Health Organization for medical evacuation; Médecins Sans Frontières says more than one in five of them are children. The sick include more than 11,000 cancer patients, and Gaza health officials said about 4,000 people with official referrals for treatment to third countries have been unable to cross.

Israel seized control of the Rafah crossing in May 2024, saying it was necessary to prevent weapons smuggling by Hamas, a move that isolated the territory and cut off a critical lifeline for medical care, travel and trade. Israel has made clear that movement through the crossing after the partial reopening will be subject to joint Israeli-Egyptian security screening and that only a small number of Gaza’s tens of thousands of wounded and ill will be permitted to leave each day.

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