Rafah Crossing Reopens for Pedestrian Travel

The Rafah Border Crossing between Egypt and Gaza reopened on Monday for the first time in nearly two years, an Israeli security official confirmed; a development widely welcomed by Palestinians and international bodies as a major step in the ongoing ceasefire process.

The key gateway, viewed by many Palestinians as their primary link to the outside world, has remained largely inaccessible since Israel seized control of it in May 2024 due to terrorists smuggling weapons into the Strip. The crossing fully shut again during the collapse of the January 2025 ceasefire the following March. Roughly 20,000 Palestinians in need of medical treatment hope to depart the devastated enclave via Rafah, while thousands more outside Gaza are waiting for the chance to return.

Although the reopening carries mostly symbolic weight at this stage, with only limited movement allowed, small groups of Palestinians and European monitoring teams arrived early Monday as operations resumed.

Israel’s public broadcaster Kan reported that the crossing is expected to operate roughly six hours per day.

Authorities clarified that only Palestinian pedestrians from Gaza were permitted to pass. Foreign nationals and aid workers seeking entry must continue using Israel’s border crossings, and all goods and humanitarian shipments will also continue to move through Israeli terminals. Israel is still blocking foreign journalists from entering Gaza without supervision.

Israeli officials said only Palestinians who had exited Gaza during the war would be allowed back in. According to Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, about 42,000 Gazans left the Strip during the conflict, predominantly medical patients or dual nationals.

A US official and an Arab diplomat told The Times of Israel that members of the Palestinian technocratic committee are also expected to enter Gaza through Rafah later this week.

The 12-member National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), formed to oversee civilian governance in a post-Hamas Gaza, has been meeting in Cairo since being introduced last month. All members originally hail from Gaza, though some have lived abroad in recent years.

It remained unclear how many people crossed in or out on the reopening day, though officials said the initial numbers would be modest.

An Egyptian official had estimated that around 50 Palestinians would pass in each direction on Monday, while Kan reported that as many as 150 Gazans, including 50 medical patients, were slated to depart for Egypt.

A border source told AFP that several dozen travelers reached the Egyptian side Monday morning as they waited to enter Gaza.

Egyptian officials said roughly 150 hospitals across the country are prepared to receive Palestinian medical evacuees. The Egyptian Red Crescent has also established designated “safe spaces” near the border to support patients and families entering from Gaza.

Egypt’s state-affiliated Cairo News reported that the Egyptian side of Rafah would remain open on a 24-hour basis.