Gaza’s border crossing with Egypt reopened on Thursday to a limited number of people, Egyptian state media and a Red Crescent official said, for the first time since Israel and the United States launched strikes on Iran.
An Egyptian Red Crescent official, speaking anonymously to AFP, said the Rafah crossing had reopened in both directions and would allow Palestinian patients to cross into Egypt and blocked Palestinians to return to Gaza.
Al-Qahera News broadcast footage showing a small number of Palestinians, including people receiving medical treatment, preparing to cross from the Egyptian side back into Gaza. Several ambulances were also seen waiting to receive patients coming from the devastated Palestinian territory.
Israel announced this week that Rafah would reopen on Wednesday, but the reopening did not happen. It said the trips would continue in coordination with Egypt, with the approval of Israel’s security service and under the supervision of the European Union border mission.
Arriving travelers will undergo additional screening inside Gaza in an area controlled by the Israeli military, according to COGAT, the Israeli Defense Ministry body that oversees civilian affairs in the Palestinian territories.
In early February, the EU deployed its border assistance mission (EUBAM) to Rafah.
Rafah, which Israeli forces captured nearly two years ago in a war with Hamas, was briefly reopened on February 2 to restricted movement, but was closed again on February 28 when Israel closed all crossings after the start of its attack on Iran.
The Kerem Shalom crossing, under Israeli control, was reopened a few days later for limited humanitarian aid, including fuel.
For many sick and wounded Gazans, Rafah has been a key route to medical aid in Egypt and one of the few means of reuniting separated families, and despite reopening last month, only a small number of Palestinians are allowed to cross.
According to three Egyptian border officials, the daily limit for entering Egypt was 50 patients, each with a maximum of two companions, and the number of people allowed to return to Gaza was also limited to 50.
Those who returned during the brief reopening in February said they underwent extensive security checks and screenings.
(Vijesti.ba / FENA)
