According to the broadcaster’s correspondent, Egyptian authorities completed all logistical and security procedures in the early hours of the day to ensure the smooth crossing of returnees and their safe arrival at destinations inside Gaza.
The crossings are operating under a new mechanism launched on 2 February, which allows 50 Palestinians to enter Gaza each day, while 50 patients accompanied by escorts are permitted to exit to Egypt to receive medical treatment.
On the humanitarian front, the Egyptian Red Crescent (ERC) continues to provide an integrated package of services at the Rafah crossing. Preparations are underway to receive and send off the seventh group of wounded and injured Palestinians, as well as to accompany those who have recovered in Egyptian hospitals on their return to Gaza, in coordination with the Ministries of Health and Social Solidarity.
Services delivered through the humanitarian service centers at the arrival and departure halls include psychological support for children, hot meals, winter clothing, family-tracing services, and the distribution of “return kits” to returnees.
These efforts are supported by more than 65,000 volunteers mobilized since the start of the crisis, alongside the entry of over 800,000 tonnes of relief aid, the report said.
The large number of registered returnees reflects Palestinians’ attachment to their land and rejection of displacement despite the scale of destruction across Gaza. However, AlQahera News noted that Israeli measures continue to restrict the right of return to Palestinians who left the Strip after October 2023.
The humanitarian situation remains compounded by Israeli obstacles preventing the travel of nearly 22,000 wounded and sick Palestinians in urgent need of treatment abroad, as well as Israel’s failure to fully reopen the crossing in line with commitments under the first phase of the ceasefire agreement in force since October 2025, the report added.
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.
The UN human rights office said on Thursday that Palestinian returnees to Gaza via the recently reopened Rafah crossing reported a repeated pattern of abuse and humiliation by Israeli occupation forces over three consecutive days.
In a statement, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said returnees described being intercepted after crossing by armed Palestinians allegedly backed by the Israeli army and taken to an Israeli military checkpoint, where they were subjected to coercive and degrading treatment.
Testimonies indicated that some returnees were handcuffed, blindfolded, threatened, searched, and intimidated, with personal belongings and money confiscated. Others reported violent interrogations and invasive body searches, in some cases while restrained, as well as denial of medical care and access to toilets, forcing some to urinate in public.
The office added that some returnees said they were offered money to return permanently to Egypt or pressured to work as informants for the Israeli army.
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