Israel has announced that limited passage will be allowed from tomorrow at the Rafah crossing with Gaza, after several years of almost complete isolation. The reopening of that crossing is a key step in the further implementation of the Israel-Hamas truce.
Israel announced today that the crossing is open for testing. COGAT, the Israeli military agency that controls Gaza, said the crossing was actively being prepared for a wider operation, adding that Gazans would begin crossing from tomorrow.
This was announced a day after at least 30 Palestinians, including several children, were killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza. Yesterday’s attacks resulted in one of the highest death tolls since the beginning of the ceasefire in October. The previous day, Israel accused Hamas of violating the ceasefire.
Nikolaj Mladenov, the general director of the “Committee for Peace in Gaza” of the US President Donald Trump, today on the IX network called on both sides to show restraint and respect the ceasefire. He said his office was working with the Palestinian committee chosen to oversee Gaza to find ways to prevent future incidents.
“We need everyone’s cooperation to make this happen,” said Mladenov.
Palestinians see Rafah as a gateway to the world, and that crossing has been largely closed since Israel captured it in May 2024.
At first, few people will be able to pass through it and no goods will be able to pass through it.
About 20,000 Palestinian children and adults in need of medical care hope to be able to leave war-torn Gaza through the crossing, while thousands of other Palestinians outside the territory hope to be able to return home.
Zalee al-Vahidi, head of the documentation department of the Ministry of Health in Gaza, told AP that the ministry had not yet been notified of the start of medical evacuations.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel would allow 50 patients a day to leave the territory.
An official involved in the negotiations, who did not want to be named, said each patient would be allowed to travel with two relatives, while about 50 people who left Gaza during the war would be allowed to return each day.
Israel has announced that its and Egyptian authorities will check people on both sides of the crossing, which will be monitored by European Union border agents. It is expected that the number of passengers will increase, if the system proves to be successful.
