The Rafah Crossing began operating this week in both directions for the passage of individuals between Egypt and the Gaza Strip in a move described as limited and partial after a total Israeli-imposed closure for the last 21 months.
Egyptian and Palestinian sources said it was agreed that only 100 Palestinians would cross daily during the initial period of opening the crossing in both directions, with priority being given to Palestinian patients and wounded individuals who had entered Egypt during the war to receive medical treatment and want now to return to Gaza.
At the same time, Egyptian ambulances arrived at the crossing in preparation for receiving wounded and sick Palestinians in Egyptian hospitals.
Governor of North Sinai Khaled Megawer confirmed that the North Sinai governorate is responsible for bringing humanitarian and relief aid trucks to the Gaza Strip and receiving wounded Palestinians.
During an inspection tour of the Egyptian side of the Rafah Crossing on Sunday, Megawer noted that 1,200 Palestinian patients and their companions had completed their treatment in Egyptian hospitals and wanted to go back to Gaza.
“Fifty of these Palestinians began returning to Gaza on the first day the Rafah Crossing reopened, and we expect that 50 others will cross every day into Gaza. This means that 100 people can use the Rafah Crossing every day in both directions on an initial basis,” Megawer said.
Sources indicated that the crossing is being managed entirely by Egyptian personnel on the Egyptian side, while the Palestinian side is overseen by staff from the Palestinian Authority (PA) and a delegation from the European Union.
Israel said its army has set up a security barrier under its control in the Philadelphi Corridor to inspect those returning to Gaza as part of arrangements it deems necessary to prevent security threats.
According to Megawer, hospitals in North Sinai are on a state of maximum alert in preparation for receiving Gazan patients upon their arrival at the Rafah Crossing in the coming days.
Egyptian Health Ministry Spokesperson Hossam Abdel-Ghaffar said that an emergency plan has been adopted to receive Palestinian patients and wounded people coming from Gaza through the Rafah Crossing.
“The plan involves the participation of about 150 hospitals nationwide, around 12,000 doctors in critical specialties, and more than 18,000 nursing staff, together with the deployment of 30 rapid response teams to move to North Sinai within hours,” Abdel-Ghaffar said, noting that between 250 and 300 highly equipped ambulances will be prepared and a strategic stock will be secured to cover 1,000 blood transfusions per day.
Megawer indicated that Egyptian Red Crescent (ERC) volunteers are being tasked with providing various services to Palestinians at the crossing, facilitating their return to Gaza, providing wheelchairs for the elderly and sick, and distributing gifts to Palestinians.
According to ERC Executive Director Amal Imam, Egypt’s humanitarian services to Gazans also include operating mobile kitchens to provide hot meals, distributing winter clothing, blankets, and personal care supplies, receiving the wounded, and preparing a “return bag” for Palestinians departing from Egypt.
Megawer added that Egypt had stipulated that Palestinians using the crossing must be able to use it in both directions and that the number of those leaving Gaza should be equal to the number entering it.
“Egypt also insisted that Palestinians who leave Gaza should also have the right to return to it,” Megawer said.
A European Commission mission has announced its presence at Rafah to monitor operations. EU Commissioner for Foreign Policy Kaja Kallas said opening the Rafah Crossing was a positive step, stressing that the EU mission was there to supervise the implementation of procedures in coordination with Egypt, Israel, and the PA, in line with the second phase of US President Donald Trump’s 20-point peace plan for Gaza.
The reopening of the crossing drew widespread acclaim for Egyptian diplomacy.
Ali Shaath, head of the National Committee for the Administration of the Gaza Strip, told Al-Qahera news channel that “without Egypt, it would have been impossible to see an end to the two-year war in Gaza or alleviate the humanitarian suffering of Palestinians living in the enclave.”
The UK also issued a statement welcoming the reopening of the crossing and commending Egypt’s pivotal role in allowing critically ill Palestinians to access life-saving care in Egyptian hospitals.
Analysis by local and Arab media agreed that opening the Rafah Crossing in both directions represents a pivotal development that refutes a number of Israeli claims that have been promoted throughout the two-year war on Gaza and exposes the falsehood of smear campaigns that target Egypt and its role in alleviating the humanitarian suffering of Gazans.
Ahmed Fouad Anwar, a member of the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs and an expert on Israeli affairs, said opening the Rafah Crossing refutes Israeli misrepresentations that accompanied the war and were part of a systematic smear campaign.
He explained that this campaign was based on claims that the border with Egypt was breached and that it was a conduit for smuggling weapons to Hamas.
He added that Israel had also claimed that Egypt had been preventing the opening of the Rafah Crossing. “It has become clear to all that it was Israel that was preventing the opening of the Rafah Crossing, and it was aiming to open it only in one direction as part of plans for displacing the Palestinians from their land,” Anwar said.
He indicated that “during the war Israel also wanted to create a state of chaos on the border between Egypt and Gaza as part of a political blackmail plot against Cairo to push it to accept the displacement scheme.”
Anwar noted that the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group also joined the campaign against Egypt, claiming that Cairo was blocking the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza.
“This campaign was strongly countered when Egypt took the secretary-general of the United Nations and a number of European leaders and influential figures to the Rafah Crossing, so that they could see for themselves Egypt’s tremendous efforts to allow the entry of aid into Gaza,” Anwar said.
“Israel used the issue of the Rafah Crossing to push its displacement plans forward, and the Muslim Brotherhood exploited the issue for its own political interests,” he added.
Diaa Rashwan, head of the State Information Service, said that “Israel did not win the battle of the Rafah Crossing, but rather Egypt, international law, the mediators, and the Palestinian side won it.”
He added during an interview with Sky News Arabia on Sunday that the Israeli side had insisted on opening the crossing only for Palestinians to leave Gaza, confirming the theory of displacement, but Egypt had rejected this proposal and insisted that the crossing must be opened from both sides.
“The flow of aid trucks during the first trial day of the opening of the crossing was small, and there will be obstacles from the Israeli side, but the most important thing is that Egyptian policy throughout the period was characterised by patience and pressure together, due to its belief that the Gaza agreement will not be implemented in a day,” Rashwan said.
He explained that the crossing is supposed to witness the passage of all emergency humanitarian and healthcare cases to Egypt, and in return the passage of hundreds of Palestinians to the Gaza Strip, if things proceed normally, without obstacles, delays, or Israeli pretexts.
He stressed that “the reopening of the crossing in accordance with the 2005 agreement, in which the European Union and the PA were partners, is a sign of the inability of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to impose what he wants.”
Rashwan expects the number of aid trucks to increase to 600 per day with the implementation of the second phase of the agreement, saying that aid over the past period has not entered in sufficient quantities.
Ayman Al-Raqab, a professor of political science at Al-Quds University, agreed that the Rafah Crossing has been effectively closed by the Israeli occupation since May 2024.
He said that anyone who denies this is deliberately misleading the public, because the facts are clear. He added that Israel had refused to open the Rafah Crossing during the war, making this a main reason for the suffering of the Palestinians.
He criticised “the voices” that were attacking Egypt, describing them as “biased” and “politicised”.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 5 February, 2026 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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