Gaza border crossing buzzes with activity after years of near-complete closure

CAIRO — Gaza’s Rafah border crossing with Egypt was busy with activity Sunday as Israel said that limited travel to and from the territory is set to resume after years of near-complete isolation. Reopening the border crossing is a key step as the Israel-Hamas ceasefire moves ahead.

Israel announced Sunday that the crossing has opened in a test. COGAT, the Israeli military agency that controls aid to Gaza, said in a statement that the crossing was actively being prepared for fuller operation, adding that residents of Gaza would begin to pass through the crossing once preparations were complete.

Palestinian security officers passed through the crossing’s Egyptian gate and headed toward the Palestinian gate to join an EU mission that will be supervising exit and entry, said an Egyptian official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to talk to the media. Ambulances also crossed through the Egyptian gate, the official added.

The head of the new Palestinian administrative committee governing Gaza’s daily affairs has said travel in both directions would start Monday.

Rafah, which Palestinians see as their gateway to the world, has been largely shut since it was seized by Israel in May 2024.

Few people will be allowed at first, and no goods allowed to cross. About 20,000 Palestinian children and adults needing medical care are hoping to leave war-devastated Gaza via the crossing, and thousands of other Palestinians outside the territory hope to return home.

Zaher al-Wahidi, head of the Health Ministry’s documentation department in Gaza, told The Associated Press that the ministry hasn’t yet been notified about the start of medical evacuations.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel will allow 50 patients a day to leave. An official involved in the discussions, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the diplomatic talks, said each patient would be allowed to travel with two relatives, while some 50 people who left Gaza during the war would be allowed to return each day.

Israel has said it and Egypt will vet people for exit and entry through the crossing, which will be supervised by European Union border patrol agents. The number of travelers is expected to increase over time if the system is successful.

Israeli troops seized and closed the Rafah crossing in May 2024, calling it part of efforts to combat Hamas arms smuggling. The crossing was briefly opened for the evacuation of medical patients during a ceasefire in early 2025. Israel had resisted reopening the Rafah crossing, but the recovery of the remains of the last hostage in Gaza last week cleared the way to move forward.

The reopening is a key step as last year’s U.S.-brokered ceasefire agreement, which took effect on Oct. 10, moves into its second phase.

Before the war, Rafah was the main crossing for people moving in and out of Gaza. Although Gaza has four other border crossings, they are shared with Israel. Under the ceasefire terms, Israel’s military controls the area between the Rafah crossing and the zone where most Palestinians live.

Fearing that Israeli could use the crossing to push Palestinians out of the enclave, Egypt has repeatedly said it must be open for both entry to and exit from Gaza. Historically, Israel and Egypt have vetted Palestinians applying to cross.

The current ceasefire halted more than two years of war between Israel and Hamas that began with a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. The truce’s first phase called for the exchange of all hostages held in Gaza for hundreds of Palestinians held by Israel, an increase in badly needed humanitarian aid and a partial pullback of Israeli troops.

The second phase is more complicated. It calls for installing a new Palestinian committee to govern Gaza, deploying an international security force, disarming Hamas, and taking steps to begin rebuilding.