As ceasefire progresses, Rafah border crossing in Gaza reopens for first time since May

them, a young girl who had undergone a foot amputation was seen being loaded into an Egyptian ambulance, a report by Associated Press stated.

According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, around 60 family members accompanied the children. This marks the start of what is intended to be regular medical evacuations from Gaza for treatment abroad.

Palestinians wounded in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip wait before crossing the Rafah border into Egypt, as wounded and sick Palestinians are allowed to leave the Gaza Strip for medical treatment, in Khan Younis, Saturday Feb. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

Israel’s military campaign against Hamas, launched in response to the October 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel, has severely damaged Gaza’s healthcare system. More than 110,000 Palestinians have been wounded, and most hospitals are out of operation, the Palestinian Health Ministry reports.

Why Rafah is Important?

Rafah is Gaza’s only crossing that does not enter Israel. Israeli forces closed it in early May after seizing it during an offensive on the southern city. Egypt subsequently shut its side of the border in protest.

Even before the current war, Rafah served as a critical passage for Palestinians seeking medical treatment abroad, as Gaza’s healthcare system was already under strain due to a 15-year Israeli-Egyptian blockade aimed at containing Hamas.

Reopening the crossing required complex negotiations between Israeli, Egyptian, and Palestinian officials. Israeli troops remain stationed at the crossing and in the Philadelphia Corridor, the strip of land along the border. Israel has refused to allow Hamas to regain control of the crossing, accusing the group of using tunnels to smuggle weapons. Egypt has insisted that it destroyed the tunnels and halted smuggling years ago.

Hundreds of Egyptians gather in front of the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, to show solidarity with the Palestinians and to reject the proposed displacement plans, Friday, Jan. 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Mohammed Arafat)

Israel has also rejected the prospect of the Palestinian Authority (PA) officially running the crossing. Instead, Palestinians who previously served as PA border officers will staff the crossing but will not be allowed to wear PA insignia. Israel has screened them to ensure they have no ties to Hamas, according to a European diplomat.

European Union monitors will also be present, as they were before 2007. Meanwhile, negotiations for the second phase of the ceasefire deal—focused on a permanent ceasefire, Israel’s full withdrawal from Gaza, and the release of remaining hostages—are set to begin on Monday. However, Israel remains opposed to the PA taking control of postwar Gaza.