Gazans face impossible wait at Rafah crossing to Egypt

Most of the videos posted online since the partial reopening of the Rafah crossing, which links the Gaza Strip and Egypt, on February 2, are celebratory: they show Gazans returning home to bouquets, dances and tearful crowds of journalists and family members. The reopening of this crucial border crossing, which had been closed since it was taken by the Israeli Army in May 2024, was part of the Gaza peace plan signed on October 9 by the warring parties. 

After going through a number of checkpoints, Palestinians who want to return to the Gaza Strip are bussed across the border, accompanied by UN personnel and by men wearing Egyptian colours, as documented in photos taken by Al Jazeera correspondent Hani al-Shaer.

The partial border reopening has also meant that some Gazans seeking medical treatment for serious injuries or illnesses have been able to travel to Egypt for medical care. The UN reported that only 14 of the 36 hospitals in the Gaza Strip were operational by October 2025, after the Israeli Army had carried out at least 700 attacks on Gazan health centres since operations began in October 2023. 

The story of patients being allowed to cross into Egypt for medical care was covered by both local and international press who are able to access the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing. The Palestinian side of the crossing, which is still within the “yellow line” controlled by Israel, remains inaccessible to foreign media.

However, the number of people allowed to travel in both directions is still minuscule and not reflective of the need. EUBAM, a European mission tasked with observing and assisting with the operations of Palestinian authorities in Rafah, said there are only 80 to 100 crossings a day. The numbers are roughly split between people seeking to voluntarily return to the Gaza Strip and people seeking to leave Gaza for urgent medical care. No more than two family members are allowed to accompany the patients. 

Around 20,000 Gazans are waiting to receive medical care abroad, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. At the current rate of crossings, it would take more than a year to get all of these people to health facilities abroad.

This map shows Israel’s so-called “yellow line”. The parts of the Gaza Strip behind this line (in yellow on the map) are still occupied by the Israeli army. The peace plan that went into effect on October 10 calls for the line to be progressively moved back, until the Israeli Army has withdrawn from the territory and has been replaced by an international armed force. Hamas and the Israeli Army both accuse one another of violating the ceasefire that is part of the plan. Israel continues to bomb areas outside of the yellow line. © France Médias Monde graphics studio

‘My son’s name hasn’t been selected. How long will he have to wait?’

The daily trickle of evacuations has created a difficult situation for people who need medical care outside of the Gaza Strip. That’s the case for 10-year-old Ibrahim – whose name has been changed to protect his anonymity – who became paraplegic after his spine was injured in an Israeli bomb attack in the summer of 2025. One of his arms was also amputated. His family shared both images and medical documents with our team. 

Khadija (not her real name), his mother, wants to travel to Egypt with him as soon as possible so that her son can receive medical care. 

"My son can’t walk. He is currently in a hospital focused on rehabilitation. But because of a shortage of beds, he can only stay here for two or three months even though he needs six to seven months of care. That means that before his condition can improve, he will have to return to suffering in our tent. 

He also needs a new prosthetic hand. One was made for him at the Jordanian hospital here in the Gaza Strip, but it doesn’t work for him. It caused an inflammation, so he won’t wear it and can’t use it for his rehabilitation therapy. 

That’s why we are hoping that he can cross so that he can continue his treatment abroad and get a new prosthetic. Moreover, his father is already in Egypt – he left before the war. He wants to see his son and his son wants to see him."

Thus far, Ibrahim has not been one of those lucky enough to be evacuated. His mother is afraid that he will remain trapped in the Gaza Strip for months.

"His name hasn’t been selected. We are suffering, waiting for our turn to leave.

They reopened the crossing, but it is like nothing is actually happening because they are letting so few people through. Some people who have been able to leave told us that they have been on the list for two years. How long will my son have to wait?” 

‘I’m at the end of my savings, and I can’t work here as a journalist’

On the other side of the Rafah crossing, in Egypt, journalist Hamza Chalan is also waiting. Chalan wants to return to his homeland, which he left in May 2024, just a few days before Israel took control of the Rafah border crossing and crossings became impossible. He was one of the first people to sign up for voluntary return at the Palestinian embassy in Cairo. 

"I went to Cairo with my parents just before it became impossible to cross. It was very expensive [Editor’s note: he says it was several thousand euros], but my father needed dialysis, which was no longer available in Gaza. He died last year.” 

Alongside the loss, Hamza Chalan says that he also wants to return to Gaza because he finds it nearly impossible to make ends meet in Egypt. He says he had to sell some of his professional equipment to pay for food and accommodation. 

"Going to Egypt was the right decision, I don’t regret it. But I am at the end of my savings, and because I don’t have the right documents, I am unable to work here. So we are surviving month to month.  

In Gaza, I will be able to work as a journalist again. While I was there, I was working for Danish National Television, I was part of the production team on a documentary, and I worked as a correspondent for other media outlets. I want to go back to doing what I love. Returning to Gaza is a difficult decision when you don’t have work there, but that’s not my situation.  

I also have family responsibilities in Gaza. I have eight sisters who stayed there, and they need help. My mother will be 70 soon and she wants to see her daughters.”

‘They say that there are armed gangs at the crossing who look through your luggage’

Hamza Chalan has looked into the many searches and checks that you must undergo to return. He says he is looking at them with a mix of fear and optimism. 

"From what I’ve heard from colleagues who have already crossed, you first have to go through Egyptian checkpoints and then Palestinian checkpoints, run by the Palestinian Authority [Editor’s note: the Palestinian Authority is based in the West Bank. Gaza’s government is controlled by Hamas]. Then, I’ve heard that armed gangs look through your luggage. They will hardly let you take anything across – I know, for example, that I won’t be able to bring back my journalistic equipment. They interrogate you as well – you are at their mercy. Then, finally, they bring you to the Israelis, where you have to go through the same thing. 

I’m not worried about their questions. I am not involved in anything political or any armed group. But if any member of your family is linked to something, then it can all go very badly. The gangs are made up of people who escaped from prison. The crossing is very risky, but here, we are facing death by a thousand cuts anyway."

Our team has already documented the existence of armed gangs in Gaza, some of which are supported by the Israeli Army and operate in areas under its control. At least one of these gangs is run by a former convict, a former drug dealer. We haven’t been able to independently verify several eyewitness accounts that these gangs are operating at the Rafah crossing. We will publish the information we are gathering on the topic as soon as possible. 

To display this content from YouTube, you must enable advertisement tracking and audience measurement.

One of your browser extensions seems to be blocking the video player from loading. To watch this content, you may need to disable it on this site.

There are at least seven factions and clans challenging Hamas’s authority in Gaza, each holding sway over a small patch of territory. © Observers / Upian

"I am waiting, but I don’t even know if I will be able to cross into Gaza. If I am rejected in Egypt, that will really be crazy. It’s the worst time in my life – I have no real choice, no freedom, everything is outside of my control. As a Palestinian, I have no right to self-determination. But we still put one foot in front of the other, still hold on to hope.”

This article has been translated from the original in French by Brenna Daldorph.