For Palestinians in Gaza, the Rafah border crossing into Egypt is their gateway to the world. But since Israel took over in May 2024, it has been largely closed.
Now Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the crossing will reopen soon, as the US-Israel-Hamas-led ceasefire enters its second phase.
That raises hopes for thousands of war-torn Palestinians who want to travel abroad for medical help, and tens of thousands of people outside Gaza who want to return home.
“Everyone in Gaza, from families with children waiting to be taken to the hospital, to students who have received scholarships abroad, and others who are separated from their families, are all looking forward to seeing what happens with crossing the Rafah border,” Alexandra Saieh, head of global strategic and policy impact with the charity Save the Children, told CBC News.
But those hoping to cross over will face strict controls. Under Netanyahu’s terms, only a limited number of Palestinians will be allowed to cross each day, and no goods will be allowed to cross yet. All other areas crossing the Gaza border are in Israel.
An Israeli official who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity in line with policy said the Rafah crossing would be opened in the coming days. A person with knowledge of the reopening talks said they were told it could come as early as Thursday.
Ali Shaath, who was recently appointed to head the Palestinian administrative committee that controls Gaza’s daily affairs, said on January 22 that the crossing “will be opened next week for both sides.”
“Opening Rafah shows that Gaza is no longer closed to the future and to the world,” he said in a video the White House posted on X last week.
Aid organizations want access to more, essential goods
Preparations are underway to allow a limited number of medical evacuees to leave Gaza first.
There are conflicting reports on how many people may cross each day. An Israeli official said 50 Palestinians would be allowed in and 50 out every day. A person familiar with the talks said that 50 will be allowed to enter every day and 150 to leave.
That means a long wait for many of the estimated 20,000 sick and wounded who the health department says need treatment outside of Gaza, where Israel’s offensive has destroyed the health care system.
At an average exodus of 50 people a day, it would take more than a year for each of those 20,000 to leave.
One law prohibits Palestinian students already accepted at Canadian universities from entering the country.
Saieh told CBC News that Israel’s plan to control who comes in and out is “incredibly concerning” but “not surprising,” and Save the Children is calling on the Israeli government to allow unrestricted access.
He says he hopes that the opening of this center also allows for more help for people who need it the most, from basic health care to shelters. Palestinians have long reported severe shortages of fuel and other essentials.
Save the Children is also calling for the opening of a medical corridor between Gaza and East Jerusalem, where hospitals can take in people who need medical evacuation.
“The opening of Rafah must be unconditional,” said Saieh. “People should have the right to move freely, and unfortunately that has been robbed from the Palestinians in Gaza.”
Meanwhile, at least 30,000 Palestinians have registered with the Palestinian Embassy in Cairo to return to Gaza, according to an embassy official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because details of the reopening are still being discussed.
The United Nations wants to open a place where it will cross “humanitarian goods and private companies, which is very important for economic recovery in Gaza,” spokesman Stephane Dujarric said on Wednesday.
The UN’s deputy Middle East coordinator, Ramiz Alakbarov, told a UN Security Council meeting that humanitarian workers are facing “delays and denial of supplies when the few routes available to transport goods to Gaza are cut off.”
Many countries, institutions are involved
A complex web of countries and institutions oversees the Rafah crossing, but Israel has the power to control who enters and exits.
Egypt will provide Israel with a daily list of names to review and decide on, an Israeli official said.
Under the terms of the ceasefire, the Israeli military controls the area between the Rafah crossing and the area where the majority of Palestinians live. COGAT, the Israeli military unit responsible for coordinating aid to Gaza, will bus Palestinians to and from the crossing, the official said.
There will be no Israeli soldiers at the crossing, the official said, but Palestinians leaving and entering will be subject to Israeli security checks inside Gaza. In the past, such tests have been carried out by the Israeli military and private American contractors.
Andrew Chang explains what US $1 billion buys members of Trump’s Peace Council. Photos provided by The Canadian Press, Reuters and Getty Images
“Anyone who enters or leaves is checked, fully checked,” Netanyahu said on Tuesday.
Officials from the EU Border Assistance Mission and the Palestinian Authority will cross.
Plainclothes and Palestinian Authority officials will stamp passports, as they did during the early 2025 moratorium and before Hamas took over Gaza in 2007, Palestinian officials told The Associated Press.
Crossing has long been a contentious issue
Even before the war, Palestinians faced severe restrictions in Rafah.
Egypt, along with Israel, imposed a blockade after Hamas took power in Gaza in 2007. It reopened the crossing into Egypt after the 2011 Egyptian revolution but closed it in 2013 after the military overthrew president Mohammed Morsi, the leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamist group from which Hamas emerged.
Egypt gradually allowed the Rafah crossing to reopen in the following years, but the exit restrictions and closures led to a large tunnel economy emerging under it.
The tunnels served as an economic source for Gaza as well as a conduit for weapons and money, according to Israeli and Egyptian officials. Hamas collected taxes and customs on goods passing through the crossing.
Netanyahu said he is focused on disarming Hamas, which is a challenging part of the second phase of the ceasefire with the US, and destroying the remaining channels. He said there would be no reconstruction in Gaza without the removal of the military, a situation that would make Israel’s control over Rafah a key point.
