Sources told AlQahera News channel that teams from the Egyptian Red Crescent received the returnees at Rafah, facilitated procedures in coordination with the relevant authorities, and provided meals, water, and juice, as well as sweets and chocolate for children. Psychological support was also provided.
Meanwhile, Egyptian authorities are preparing to receive the sixth group of wounded and sick Palestinians from Gaza for treatment in Egyptian hospitals.
The Ministry of Health has set up a medical point at the Rafah crossing to conduct examinations, triage cases, and transfer patients to hospitals using fully equipped ambulances, the sources added.
In recent days, five groups of Palestinian returnees have departed for the Gaza Strip, while Egypt has received several wounded and sick Palestinians for treatment in its hospitals.
On reports of mistreatment, the UN human rights office in the Occupied Palestinian Territory said on Thursday that Palestinian returnees to Gaza via the recently reopened Rafah crossing have described a repeated pattern of abuse and humiliation by Israeli occupation forces over three consecutive days.
Returnees reported being taken after crossing by armed Palestinians, allegedly backed by the Israeli army, to an Israeli military checkpoint, where they were subjected to coercive and degrading treatment, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said in a statement.
According to the office, consistent testimonies indicate that some returnees were handcuffed, blindfolded, searched, threatened, and intimidated, with personal belongings and money confiscated.
Upon arrival at the checkpoint, returnees described violent and humiliating interrogations and invasive body searches that violated their privacy, in some cases while they remained restrained and blindfolded.
The office said returnees also reported being denied access to medical care and toilets, resulting in severe humiliation, including forcing some to urinate in public.
Others said they were asked whether they would accept money in exchange for returning to Egypt permanently or were offered payments to work as informants for the Israeli army.
OHCHR said these accounts point to a pattern of conduct that violates Palestinians’ rights to personal security and dignity and their protection from torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment.
It added that such practices raise serious concerns about coercive measures aimed at deterring Palestinians from exercising their right to return, potentially reinforcing what it described as ethnic cleansing in Gaza.
Ajith Sunghay, head of the UN human rights office in the occupied Palestinian territory, said the international community bears responsibility to ensure that all actions related to Gaza comply with international law and fully respect Palestinian human rights.
“After two years of destruction, the ability of people to return to their families and what remains of their homes in safety and dignity is the bare minimum,” he said.
The Rafah land crossing linking Egypt and Gaza was reopened on the Palestinian side last Monday. Israel agreed to reopen the crossing under international and regional pressure, as part of a truce brokered by Egypt, Qatar, Turkey, and the United States.
Under current arrangements, the crossing is operated by Palestinian officials under European Union oversight, while Israel reviews passenger lists in advance and conducts security checks at a separate facility beyond the crossing.
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