RAFAH: A handful of injured Palestinians and their companions entered Egypt from Gaza on Monday, the first day of a limited reopening of the Rafah border crossing, a source on the Egyptian side of the border told AFP.
“Five injured people and seven companions” crossed the border, the source said on Tuesday.
The reopening, demanded by the United Nations and aid groups, is a key part of the second phase of US President Donald Trump’s truce plan for Gaza, where humanitarian conditions remain dire after two years of war.
The number of patients allowed to enter Egypt through the crossing was limited to 50 on Monday, each accompanied by two companions, according to three officials at the Egyptian border.
An Egyptian health official told AFP on Monday that three ambulances had arrived with Palestinian patients who were screened upon arrival to determine which hospital to be taken to.
AlQahera News, citing Egypt’s health ministry, reported that 150 hospitals and 300 ambulances had been prepared to receive Palestinian patients.
It said 12,000 doctors and 30 rapid deployment teams had been allocated to work with those transferred.
The director of Gaza City’s Al-Shifa Hospital, Mohammed Abu Salmiya, said there were 20,000 patients in the territory in urgent need of treatment, including 4,500 children.
There was no official announcement of the number of people who returned to Gaza via the crossing.
AFP images on Monday showed empty buses crossing back to Egypt after transporting Palestinians to Gaza earlier in the day.
The partial resumption of operations at the crossing comes after Israeli forces seized control of the gateway to Egypt in May 2024 during the war with Hamas.
Gaza’s civil defense reported dozens killed in a wave of Israeli strikes over the weekend, in what the military said was retaliation for Palestinian fighters exiting a tunnel in Rafah city.
Ali Shaath, the head of a Palestinian technocratic committee established to oversee the day-to-day governance of Gaza, said Rafah’s reopening offered a “window of hope” for the territory.
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Dozen people entered Egypt from Gaza on first day of Rafah opening: source
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Dozen people entered Egypt from Gaza on first day of Rafah opening: source
- The reopening, demanded by the UN and aid groups, is a key part of the second phase of Trump’s truce plan for Gaza, where humanitarian conditions remain dire after two years of war
Israeli airstrikes kill 9 in Gaza, including tent camp, Palestinian officials say
- An Israeli military official said Israel Defense Forces were striking Hamas ‘terrorists’
- Israel and Hamas have repeatedly accused each other of violating the ceasefire deal
CAIRO/JERUSALEM: At least nine Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes in northern and southern Gaza Strip on Sunday, Palestinian civil defense and health officials said.
Medics said an Israeli airstrike on a tent encampment housing displaced families killed at least four people, while health officials said another strike killed five in Khan Younis in the south.
An Israeli military official said Israel Defense Forces were striking Hamas “terrorists” in response to “a violation (on Saturday) in Beit Hanoun where terrorists emerged from a tunnel east of the yellow line.”
The official called Sunday’s strikes “precise” and in line with international law, and said Hamas had committed more than six violations of an October ceasefire, including deploying east of the “Yellow Line” agreed under the ceasefire to demarcate Israeli- and Hamas-controlled areas.
Israel and Hamas have repeatedly accused each other of violating the ceasefire deal, a key element of US President Donald Trump’s plan to end the Gaza war.
On Saturday, the military said it had identified armed “terrorists” near IDF personnel operating in the northern Gaza Strip.
The IDF said it continued to destroy underground tunnels in the northern Gaza Strip in accordance with the agreement.
It said it observed several gunmen emerging from what it said was a tunnel and entering beneath the rubble of a building east of the Yellow Line.
The military said Air Force aircraft had attacked the building and eliminated two gunmen and that it was likely that additional militants were eliminated in the strike.
The Gaza health ministry said at least 600 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since the Gaza deal began. Israel said four soldiers were killed by militants in Gaza over the same period.
Medics said an Israeli airstrike on a tent encampment housing displaced families killed at least four people, while health officials said another strike killed five in Khan Younis in the south.
An Israeli military official said Israel Defense Forces were striking Hamas “terrorists” in response to “a violation (on Saturday) in Beit Hanoun where terrorists emerged from a tunnel east of the yellow line.”
The official called Sunday’s strikes “precise” and in line with international law, and said Hamas had committed more than six violations of an October ceasefire, including deploying east of the “Yellow Line” agreed under the ceasefire to demarcate Israeli- and Hamas-controlled areas.
Israel and Hamas have repeatedly accused each other of violating the ceasefire deal, a key element of US President Donald Trump’s plan to end the Gaza war.
On Saturday, the military said it had identified armed “terrorists” near IDF personnel operating in the northern Gaza Strip.
The IDF said it continued to destroy underground tunnels in the northern Gaza Strip in accordance with the agreement.
It said it observed several gunmen emerging from what it said was a tunnel and entering beneath the rubble of a building east of the Yellow Line.
The military said Air Force aircraft had attacked the building and eliminated two gunmen and that it was likely that additional militants were eliminated in the strike.
The Gaza health ministry said at least 600 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since the Gaza deal began. Israel said four soldiers were killed by militants in Gaza over the same period.
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