The Israel Defense Forces announced this Sunday (15) that the Rafah crossing, on the border between Egypt and Gaza, will be reopened next Wednesday (18) for crossings in both directions. The site was closed on February 28, in parallel with the Israeli offensive against Iran, in partnership with the United States government.
As was the case previously, the crossing of people will be coordinated with Egypt, subject to prior security authorization from Israel and under the supervision of a European Union mission.
The announcement also warns that the Israel Defense Forces will carry out “additional controls and identifications” of travelers at the Regavim military checkpoint. To travel the approximately 15 kilometers that separate the Rafah crossing from the Nasser Hospital, in Khan Yunis, in the south of the Gaza Strip, it can take Palestinians several hours due to the different checkpoints and inspections along the route.
Before the latest closure, Israel allowed an average of 13 sick and injured people to leave Rafah per day, according to data from the World Health Organization (WHO). The crossing had reopened on February 2, after remaining practically closed since Israel took military control of the area in May 2024.
On average, more than 30 people per day left Gaza in February, also considering the patients’ companions. Initially, however, the Gaza Ministry of Health had reported that 50 Palestinians were expected to leave each day and another 150 to enter.
The WHO estimates that more than 18,500 patients in Gaza — including around 4,500 children with different pathologies and chronically ill people — require urgent medical treatment that is not available in the few hospitals still operating in the Gaza Strip.
