Limited passage resumes at Gaza-Egypt border crossing

CAIRO - Gaza’s border crossing with Egypt reopened on March 19 for a limited number of people, Palestinian and Egyptian officials told AFP, for the first time since Israel and the United States launched strikes on Iran.

An Egyptian Red Crescent official, speaking anonymously to AFP, said the Rafah crossing had reopened in both directions to allow a “limited movement” of Palestinian patients entering Egypt and stranded Palestinians returning to Gaza.

A Palestinian official from the border crossings committee told AFP that eight wounded Palestinians and 17 companions had left the devastated enclave for the Egyptian side.

COGAT, the Israeli defence ministry body overseeing civilian affairs in the Palestinian territories, confirmed the reopening without giving further details.

Al-Qahera News, close to Egyptian intelligence, aired images of a small group of Palestinians, including patients treated in Egypt, preparing to re-enter Gaza. Several ambulances were also seen waiting to receive patients arriving from the enclave.

Israel had announced earlier this week that Rafah would reopen on March 18, but that did not materialise.

It said travel would resume in coordination with Egypt, subject to Israeli security approval and monitored by the EU’s border mission.

Security checks

COGAT said travellers entering Gaza would undergo additional screening inside the territory in an area under Israeli military control. The EU’s border assistance mission (EUBAM) was redeployed to Rafah in early February.

Seized by Israeli forces nearly two years ago in the war with Hamas, Rafah briefly reopened on Feb 2 for limited movement but was shut again on Feb 28 after Israel closed all crossings following its strikes on Iran.

The Israeli-controlled Kerem Shalom crossing reopened days later for limited humanitarian aid, including fuel.

AFPTV footage on March 19 showed aid trucks crossing from Egypt through Rafah and heading to Kerem Shalom for screening before entering Gaza.

For many sick and injured Gazans, Rafah has been a crucial route to medical care in Egypt and one of the few means for separated families to reunite.

But despite its reopening last month, only small numbers of Palestinians have been allowed through.

According to Egyptian border officials, the daily cap for entry into Egypt was 50 patients, each allowed a maximum of two companions, with the number of people allowed back into Gaza also limited to 50.

Those who returned during the brief February reopening said that they underwent extensive security checks and interrogations. AFP