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The Rafah crossing has been shuttered for over eight months before as part of the cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas.
Jan. 31, 2025, 10:00 a.m. ET
Gaza’s border with Egypt is reopening to allow sick and wounded Palestinians to leave the enclave, officials said Friday, after more than eight months during which many were trapped there.
Reopening the crossing at Rafah, which has long been the enclave’s lifeline to the outside world, is a key stipulation of the cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas. Mediators hope that the agreement — which has begun with a 42-day cease-fire and hostage-for-prisoner swaps — will ultimately end the devastating 15-month-long war in Gaza.
As part of the truce, Israel agreed to reopen the Rafah crossing after the release of the remaining living female hostages held by Hamas, which took place on Thursday. Israel committed to allowing up to 50 sick and wounded militants to leave through Rafah per day, in addition to Palestinian women and children who need medical care.
The first group of Gazans to leave was expected to arrive on Saturday after European and Palestinian officials conducted a trial run of the new arrangements at the crossing, according to two European diplomats who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the delicate preparations.
Hamas had overseen the border between Gaza and Egypt since the group took full control of the enclave in 2007, after winning elections in 2006. Israel then seized the crossing in May during its offensive against Hamas in Rafah.
The crossing was being reopened with a new security arrangement between Israel, Egypt, and the internationally backed Palestinian Authority, Hamas’s rival, according to Israeli, Palestinian and European officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive diplomacy.
