Micah Jonah, February 2, 2026
Gaza’s key Rafah border crossing with Egypt has reopened for limited traffic after nearly two years of closure, officials confirmed on Monday, marking a significant but tightly controlled development under a United States brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
The Rafah crossing, Gaza’s only border passage that does not lead directly to Israel, is a vital lifeline for humanitarian aid and medical evacuations. Its reopening follows provisions in the second phase of the ceasefire agreement that halted the war in October. However, movement through the crossing will remain highly restricted.
Israeli and Egyptian authorities are expected to impose strict caps on the number of people allowed to cross each day, alongside intensive security screening. According to Israeli officials cited by Reuters, European monitoring teams have arrived at the crossing to oversee operations.
The European Union Border Assistance Mission will administer the Palestinian side of the crossing. Under the arrangement, lists of Palestinians seeking to leave Gaza, including their final destinations, will be submitted for Egyptian security vetting. Egypt will similarly provide lists of Palestinians seeking to enter Gaza, with approvals granted after security checks.
An Egyptian official told the Associated Press that about 50 Palestinians would be allowed to cross in each direction on the first day of operations. Meanwhile, the Israeli military has established a checkpoint named “Regavim” outside the Rafah crossing, where Palestinians returning from Egypt will undergo identity verification and thorough searches based on intelligence approved lists.
The crossing had been seized by Israel in May 2024, cutting off a critical route for thousands of wounded and sick Palestinians seeking medical treatment abroad. While a few thousand have been permitted to leave Gaza for treatment via Israel over the past year, the United Nations says many more remain in urgent need of care outside the Strip.
Reporting from southern Gaza, Al Jazeera correspondent, Hani Mahmoud said more than 20,000 Palestinians require immediate medical treatment abroad. Following Israel’s announcement last week that the crossing would reopen, ambulances lined up on the Egyptian side of the border in anticipation of evacuations.
Palestinian officials estimate that about 100,000 Palestinians have fled Gaza since the war began, most during its first nine months. While the reopening of Rafah offers a measure of relief, residents and aid agencies stress that the limited nature of arrangement falls far short of addressing the scale of Gaza’s humanitarian crisis.
