Gaza’s key Rafah border crossing with Egypt has reopened for limited traffic after almost two years of closure, officials have confirmed. The crossing, Gaza’s only exit point not leading to Israel, reopened on Monday under the second phase of a United States-brokered ceasefire that halted fighting between Israel and Hamas in October.
The reopening allows restricted movement of people and humanitarian supplies, but Israel and Egypt are expected to impose caps on daily crossings, alongside intensive security checks on Palestinians entering and leaving the Gaza Strip. European monitoring teams have arrived at the crossing, according to Reuters.
The European Union Border Assistance Mission, EUBAM, will administer the Palestinian side of the crossing, submitting lists of travellers and their destinations to Egypt for security vetting. Egyptian authorities will also screen Palestinians seeking entry into Gaza, with approvals granted the following day. An Egyptian official said about 50 people would cross in each direction on the first day.
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Israeli media report that the Israeli army has set up a checkpoint called Regavim near the crossing, where identities and belongings will be checked against intelligence-approved lists. The reopening restores a critical route for medical evacuations, with the United Nations estimating that more than 20,000 Palestinians urgently require treatment outside Gaza.
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