For Palestinians in Gaza, crossing the Rafah border 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 ceasefire will open soon, as the US-brokered Israel-Hamas ceasefire moves into the second phase.
That gives hope to the thousands of war-torn Palestinians who want to travel abroad for treatment, and the tens of thousands outside Gaza who want to return home.
“Everyone in Gaza, from families with children awaiting emergency medical evacuation, to students on scholarships abroad and others separated from their families, are anxiously waiting to see what happens at the Rafah border crossing.
But those who hope to cross are strictly controlled. According to Netanyahu, only dozens of Palestinians will be allowed to cross the crossing each day, and no goods will be allowed to cross for the time being. All Gaza border crossings are with Israel.
According to the policy, an Israeli official, who asked not to be named, said the Rafah crossing would be opened in the coming days. A person familiar with the reopening discussions said they were told it could come as early as Thursday.
Ali Shaat, newly appointed to head the Palestinian Authority Committee, which runs Gaza’s day-to-day affairs, said on January 22 that the ceasefire “will open in both directions next week.”
In a video posted on X last week, the White House said, “Opening Rafah’s signs does not mean Gaza is closed to the future and to the world.”
Aid organizations are asking for more access, essential items.
Preparations are being made for some medical evacuees to leave Gaza first.
There are conflicting reports on how many people can cross each day. The Israeli authorities allow 50 Palestinians and 50 people to enter every day. A person who knows the conversations will be allowed to enter 50 daily and 150 outside.
That means a long wait for many of the estimated 20,000 sick and wounded who the state’s health ministry says need treatment outside Gaza, where the Israeli offensive has destroyed the health care system.
At a rate of 50 releases per day, one in 20,000 will take more than a year to come out.
A separate law is barring Palestinian students who have previously been accepted to Canadian universities from entering the country.
Saih told CBC News that Israel’s plan to control entry and exit is incredibly worrying but “not shocking,” adding that Save the Children is calling on the Israeli government to grant unrestricted access.
She hopes the opening will allow for an increase in much-needed humanitarian aid, from basic medical aid to basic shelter supplies. Palestinians have also 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 people seeking medical evacuation.
“The opening of Rafah must be unconditional,” Sai said. “People should have the right to move, and unfortunately it’s been stolen from the Palestinians in Gaza.”
Meanwhile, at least 30,000 Palestinians have registered at the Palestinian embassy in Cairo to return to Gaza, according to an embassy official who spoke on condition of anonymity, as details of the reopening are still being discussed.
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said on Wednesday that he wants the crossing to remain open to humanitarian cargo and private sector cargo.
UN Deputy Middle East Coordinator Ramiz Alakbarov told a UN Security Council meeting that humanitarian workers face “delays and denial of cargo at crossings and certain routes to transport supplies in Gaza”.
Many countries, participating institutions
A complex web of countries and institutions control the Rafah crossing, but Israel controls who enters and exits.
According to an Israeli official, Egypt submits a list of names to Israel daily for verification and determination.
Under the ceasefire agreement, the Israeli army controls the area between the Rafah crossing and the zone where most of the Palestinians live. COGAT, the Israeli military body responsible for coordinating aid to Gaza, busses Palestinians to and from the crossing, the official said.
No Israeli troops will be stationed at the crossing, the official said, but Palestinians leaving and entering will be subject to Israeli security checks in Gaza. In the past, such screenings have been carried out by the Israeli military and private US contractors.
Andrew Chang explains what $1 billion will buy members of Trump’s new peace board. Images provided by The Canadian Press, Reuters and Getty Images
“Anyone coming in or out will be subject to our checks, full checks,” Netanyahu said on Tuesday.
Officials from the EU Border Assistance Mission and the Palestinian Authority will operate the crossing.
In the year Plainclothes Palestinian Authority officers will stamp passports as they did during a brief ceasefire in early 2025 and before Hamas took control of Gaza in 2007, Palestinian officials told The Associated Press.
Crossing has long been a point of contention
Even before the war, Palestinians faced severe restrictions on Rafah.
After Hamas seized power in Gaza in 2007, Egypt along with Israel imposed an embargo.
Egypt gradually allowed the Rafah crossing to reopen in the following years, but the ban on entry and exit led to a large tunnel economy growing beneath it.
Israeli and Egyptian officials say the tunnels have served as an economic lifeline for Gaza and a conduit for arms and money. Hamas collected taxes and customs on goods passing through the crossing.
Netanyahu said his focus on the second phase of the US-brokered ceasefire is to disarm Hamas and destroy the remaining tunnels. He said there would be no military rebuilding in Gaza, a position that could make Israel’s control of the Rafah crossing a key leverage point.