Around 200 Palestinians have left Gaza since the reopening of the Rafah Crossing with Egypt 10 days ago, according to officials in the besieged enclave.
The Rafah Crossing, the only gateway for Palestinians from Gaza to the outside world, reopened for the movement of individuals on 2 February, nearly two years after Israeli forces seized control of it during the genocidal war on Gaza.
Between 2 and 5 February, only 135 Palestinians crossed into Egypt from Gaza through the crossing, mostly patients needing medical treatment and their companions, according to Ismail Al-Thawabteh, head of the government media office in the Palestinian territory.
“The number of Palestinians who were supposed to leave the enclave for Egypt was expected to be larger, ranging from 50 and 100 per day, but stringent Israeli controls on travel have made this difficult,” Al-Thawabteh said.
He added that the crossing was also closed on 6 and 7 February by the Israeli authorities for unknown reasons.
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society noted that around 200 Palestinians from Gaza left through the crossing between 2 and 9 February.
On 8 February, only 45 Palestinians left Gaza through the crossing to Egypt, Mohamed Abu Salmiya, director of the territory’s main Al-Shifa Hospital, told the news agency AFP. They included 19 patients, while the rest were their companions, he added.
“Over 20,000 patients in Gaza urgently need medical care abroad, while around 2,000 students are waiting to travel for university, but the Israeli restrictions stand against this,” Abu Salmiya said.
“My son was injured during the war and a metal plate was inserted in his leg for a year and a half,” Rajaa Abul-Jadian told AFP as she prepared to leave through the crossing earlier last Sunday.
“They told us it had to be removed to prevent further damage.”
Travel through the crossing is also taking place in the opposite direction, with dozens of people returning to Gaza from Egypt during the same period. Egyptian officials told the Al-Qahera news channel on Sunday that 145 Palestinians had entered Gaza from Egypt since the crossing reopened on 2 February.
The channel said that the movement through the Rafah Crossing showed it is operating in both directions despite the Israeli restrictions.
It said that the crossing is seeing a kind of medical mobilisation, with more than 60 ambulances allocated by the Egyptian authorities waiting to receive new groups of Palestinian patients coming from Gaza to receive urgent health treatment in Egypt.
Governor of North Sinai Khaled Megawer told the media that Egypt is facilitating the movement of individuals and humanitarian aid through the Rafah Crossing.
“When Palestinian patients come to Egypt through the Rafah Crossing, dozens of ambulances receive them, along with specialised medical teams,” Megawer said, adding that “we transport them to hospitals in North Sinai, Ismailia, Port Said and Cairo and provide support to people with disabilities and children and infants with wheelchairs and medical escorts to ensure their safe transfer.”
Members of the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza headed by Ali Shaath conducted an inspection tour that included the Rafah Crossing and the Arish General Hospital, in addition to aid supply centres affiliated with the Egyptian Red Crescent (ERC).
Media reports show that a team from the ERC received returning Palestinians at the Rafah Crossing to facilitate procedures in coordination with the competent authorities and to distribute meals, water, and juices to them.
Sweets and chocolates were given to children, and psychological support was provided for all those entering through the Rafah Crossing.
On Monday, the ERC dispatched its 134th “Zad Al-Izza” convoy to Gaza, including over 277,000 food parcels and winter supplies, while also welcoming the sixth group of Palestinian patients and wounded at the Rafah Crossing.
The convoy carried more than 277,000 food baskets, over 270 tons of flour, 950 tons of relief supplies, and more than 1,280 tons of petroleum products to keep hospitals and vital facilities in Gaza operating.
It also included winter assistance such as winter clothing and blankets, as well as mobile toilets and mattresses and over 1,040 tents to shelter displaced families.
Presidential Spokesman Mohamed Al-Shennawi said in a statement that the Rafah Crossing has been open from the Egyptian side since 2 February without restrictions or conditions.
He said that any attempts to displace the Palestinians from their land will fail and that the only solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is the creation of two states living side by side in peace.
The local authorities have mobilised large amounts of humanitarian aid, both from Egypt and from other countries that have sent aid to Arish Airport, and Egypt has strongly pressured all the concerned parties to allow the entry of this aid into Gaza, Al-Shennawi said.
Hossam Abdel-Ghaffar, official spokesman for the Ministry of Health, said that under orders from President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi the local authorities have devised an emergency plan to provide all forms of health support to Palestinians coming from Gaza.
“The plan includes raising the level of preparedness in more than 150 hospitals across all the governorates, with the strengthening of vital departments such as emergency, intensive care, and specialised and delicate surgery,” Abdel-Ghaffar said.
He added that more than 12,000 doctors from various critical specialties, in addition to more than 18,000 nurses, have been mobilised, with the deployment of rapid response teams affiliated with the Central Administration for Emergency and Critical Care at the Health Ministry.
The reopening of the Rafah Crossing has long been demanded by the United Nations and aid organisations and forms a key element of US President Donald Trump’s peace plan for Gaza, where humanitarian conditions remain dire.
Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty stressed the need to implement the second phase of Trump’s peace plan, noting Egypt’s support for the plan’s Board of Peace, which is set to hold its first meeting on 19 February in Washington to discuss the next stage of the ceasefire in Gaza and fundraising for the reconstruction of the enclave.
Abdelatty reiterated Egypt’s full support for the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, considering it to be a transitional framework aimed at running the daily affairs of the population and thus paving the way for the Palestinian Authority (PA) to resume its full responsibilities in the enclave.
Abdelatty also emphasised the need for the swift deployment of the International Stabilisation Force, planned for under the Trump plan, to monitor the ceasefire in Gaza, to assist with the continued provision of humanitarian and relief aid to the Palestinians, and to prepare for the early recovery and reconstruction phase in Gaza.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 12 February, 2026 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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