{"id":56406,"date":"2026-02-03T03:18:22","date_gmt":"2026-02-03T08:18:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/world\/trickle-of-palestinians-get-to-leave-enter-gaza-as-rafah-crossing-reopens\/03\/02\/2026\/"},"modified":"2026-02-03T03:18:22","modified_gmt":"2026-02-03T08:18:22","slug":"trickle-of-palestinians-get-to-leave-enter-gaza-as-rafah-crossing-reopens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/world\/trickle-of-palestinians-get-to-leave-enter-gaza-as-rafah-crossing-reopens\/03\/02\/2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Trickle of Palestinians get to leave, enter Gaza as Rafah crossing reopens"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\n<\/p>\n<div data-article-body=\"true\">\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><span>Only five medical evacuees<\/span> were allowed to leave Gaza, and just 12 Palestinians were allowed to return to the war-torn territory due to delays imposed by Israeli authorities as the <span>Rafah border crossing<\/span> with Egypt finally reopened.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The long-awaited reopening of the territory\u2019s southern border crossing with Egypt on Monday was supposed to alleviate more than 18 months of a punishing military siege on Gaza.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Instead, Israeli authorities continued with tight security restrictions and a complex bureaucratic process that allowed only a small number of people to travel in either direction \u2013 leaving or entering Gaza \u2013 and also blocked goods from passing freely through the border gate.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The number of people allowed to pass through the Rafah crossing \u2013 five sick patients leaving Gaza for treatment abroad and 12 people returning home on Monday \u2013 fell far short of the 50 people Israeli officials had promised would be permitted to move in each direction.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Al Jazeera\u2019s Hani Mahmoud, reporting from Gaza City early on Tuesday, said the reopening of the crossing was a long time coming, and the result was far less than promised.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">\u201cThis is coming after a long time of waiting,\u201d Mahmoud said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">\u201cThey were expected to be entering the Gaza Strip throughout the past hours, but they were held for long hours, and this is in part due to the long process of security clearance set by the Israeli military on the Rafah crossing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">\u201cWe expected to see 50 Palestinians returning from Egypt into the Gaza Strip throughout the day, and that was the expectation by the family members here in the Gaza Strip,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Instead, a bus carrying 12 people, the first of its type to enter Gaza through the Rafah crossing in more than 18 months, brought the first group of people home early on Tuesday.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-0 size-full\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-3 right-3 rounded-full bg-white p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-white\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg viewbox=\"0 0 22 22\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"size-4 lg:size-6\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\"><path d=\"M12.372.92c0-.506.41-.916.915-.916L21 0l-.004 7.712a.917.917 0 0 1-1.832 0V3.183l-6.827 6.828-1.349-1.348 6.828-6.828h-4.529a.915.915 0 0 1-.915-.915M1.835 17.816l6.828-6.828 1.349 1.349-6.829 6.827h4.529a.915.915 0 0 1 0 1.831L0 21l.004-7.713a.916.916 0 0 1 1.831 0z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed bottom-0 left-0 right-0 top-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-white hidden\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<p>Palestinians coming from the Rafah crossing after its reopening on February 2, 2026, arrive in a vehicle at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip [Mahmoud Issa\/Reuters]<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Among the many restrictions being imposed at the crossing by Israeli authorities is that only people who left Gaza during the war are being allowed re-entry through Rafah after undergoing an exacting security clearance process.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">While only five Palestinian patients were allowed to leave the Strip on Monday through the crossing, an estimated <span>20,000 children and adults<\/span> in dire need of medical care are waiting to depart on the Gaza side of the border for medical treatment in Egypt and elsewhere, according to Gaza health officials.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Ambulances queued for hours at the border on Monday, ready to ferry Palestinian patients across the border, Egypt\u2019s state-run Al-Qahera News channel showed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Al Jazeera\u2019s Tareq Abu Azzoum, reporting from Khan Younis in southern Gaza, spoke with Randa Abu Mustafa, whose son lost sight in both his eyes due to injuries sustained in Israel\u2019s war on the territory. He was among the five patients lucky enough to be approved to leave on Monday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Another woman, Shimaa Abu Rida, told Al Jazeera that her daughter, Joumana, was seriously wounded in an Israeli air attack and she is still anxiously waiting to leave.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">\u201cStreams of people are lining up, hoping to cross to Egypt. But with 20,000 patients waiting for approval, most will be disappointed,\u201d Al Jazeera\u2019s Abu Azzoum said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">And with the entry of much-needed medicine and humanitarian supplies still blocked, Palestinian lives remain \u201cat the mercy\u201d of Israel, he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Tom Fletcher, United Nations undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs, said the partial reopening of the Rafah crossing was insufficient, stressing that the border post must function as a genuine humanitarian corridor to <span>deliver life-saving aid<\/span>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Qatar, which helped negotiate the \u201cceasefire\u201d deal Israel continues to violate at will, welcomed the opening of the Rafah crossing as \u201ca step in the right direction\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">In a statement, the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs urged Israel to fully implement the deal \u201cto ensure the sustainable and unhindered flow of humanitarian aid to the Strip\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">\u201cThe Ministry renews the State of Qatar\u2019s steadfast and permanent position in support of the Palestinian cause and the resilience of the brotherly Palestinian people, based on international legitimacy resolutions and the two-state solution, which guarantees the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital,\u201d the ministry added.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Before Israel\u2019s genocidal war on Gaza, Rafah was the main crossing for people moving in and out of the enclave.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The territory\u2019s handful of other crossings are all shared with Israel, while Rafah, which links with Egypt, was seized by Israeli troops during the war in May 2024.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><span>Violence continued across the territory<\/span> on Monday, with Israeli attacks killing at least three Palestinians in central and northern Gaza.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that Israeli drones bombed a location close to an area where people had gathered for a funeral in Nuseirat in central Gaza, killing two people and injuring several.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Israeli forces also killed one Palestinian in Halawa Camp in the city of Jabalia in northern Gaza.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The latest casualties in Gaza on Monday from Israeli attacks raised the number of people killed since October 2023 to at least 71,800, with 171,555 injured, according to Palestinian health authorities.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/news\/articles\/trickle-palestinians-leave-enter-gaza-064144257.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Only five medical evacuees were allowed to leave Gaza, and just 12 Palestinians were allowed to return to the war-torn territory due<br \/><button class=\"read-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/world\/trickle-of-palestinians-get-to-leave-enter-gaza-as-rafah-crossing-reopens\/03\/02\/2026\/\">Read More 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