A few weeks of hard discussions have culminated in the partial opening of the Rafah crossing with Egypt, allowing a limited number of Palestinians and other nationals to finally leave Gaza.
As Israel’s airstrikes pour down on the Gaza Strip, the border to the south of the confined enclave has been perceived as the last option for Gazans to flee.
Following an agreement mediated by Qatar between Israel, Hamas, and Egypt in cooperation with the United States, some people left Gaza on Wednesday through Rafah.
It happened shortly after larger convoys of relief vehicles were allowed to begin moving into the enclave from the opposite way.
Israel closed its borders with Gaza after an attack by Hamas on October 7, leaving Rafah as the only border crossing open to the Palestinians. As the humanitarian crisis in the region deepens, it has become increasingly important.
What you should know about it is as follows.
How do things stand at Rafah right now?
The Rafah crossing remained closed during the first few weeks of the Israel-Gaza conflict, preventing Palestinians from leaving the enclave.
However, it was recently unblocked to the point where a limited number of relief trucks could enter Gaza. Then, on Wednesday, it reopened to let a small number of wounded Palestinians and foreigners leave; these were the first people who weren’t hostages to be freed from Gaza since Hamas’ attacks on Israel on October 7.
Hurryingly, ambulances and consular staff transferred the injured Palestinians to Egyptian hospitals so that those who were admitted could be processed.
Officials on the Palestinian side reported in an early update on Wednesday afternoon that 110 foreign passport holders had left Gaza. It was unclear at the time whether all those people with foreign passports had entered Egypt.
Aid workers have reported that the supplies that have made it to Gaza are insufficient for the 2.2 million Palestinians living there under an Israeli-Egyptian siege. It’s important to note that no fuel trucks have entered the crossing in recent weeks. Israel has frequently warned that Hamas would divert fuel for its war effort.
The World Food Programme (WFP) has demanded that additional aid be permitted into Gaza, describing the current state of affairs as “catastrophic” due to the lack of fuel, electricity, food, and water.
Why is the crossing crucial at this particular time?
The Rafah crossing is the only point of entry between Gaza and Egypt and is situated in the northern Sinai region of Egypt. It is located along the fence separating Gaza from the Sinai desert, which is 8 miles (12.8 kilometers) long.
Over the previous 70 years, Gaza has changed hands multiple times. During the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, Egypt seized possession of it. Israel then won it back during the 1967 War, at which point it started resettling Jews there and severely restricted the movement of the Palestinian people. After Israel removed its settlers and forces from the area in 2005, Hamas took control of the strip two years later.
Israel further blocks the area by limiting air and sea movement. Since then, Egypt and Israel have enforced severe controls on their respective borders with the peninsula. Additionally, Israel has built a highly guarded border fence around the area.
Israel had two crossings with Gaza before the conflict that broke out in early October: Erez, which allowed people to travel there, and Kerem Shalom, which allowed products to pass. Both were closed since the start of the conflict and were severely restricted.
As a result, the only way to access the outside world from the area is through the Rafah crossing with Egypt.
As of July of this year, estimates from the United Nations showed that 27,000 migrants crossed the border on average each month. Up to that month, the border was open for 138 days and closed for 74 of the current year.
Closures frequently rely on the political and security climate in the area. Egypt’s closures frequently correspond with Israel’s tightening of restrictions on Gaza, even though Israel has no direct authority over the crossing.
How has access to the Rafah border evolved?
The Jewish state withdrew from the Sinai Peninsula, which it had taken from Egypt in 1967, following the signing of a peace treaty between Egypt and Israel in 1982.
The Rafah crossing was thereafter opened by Israel, who maintained control of it until its withdrawal from Gaza in 2005. The European Union, in close collaboration with Egyptian authorities, administered the border until Hamas took control of Gaza in 2007.
Approximately 450,000 passengers crossed the border between 2005 and 2007, with an average of roughly 1,500 persons per day.
Egypt and Israel severely restricted the flow of persons and goods into and out of the territory after Hamas took control of the area. However, when militants demolished defenses close to Rafah on the Egyptian border in 2008, at least 50,000 Gazans fled into Egypt in search of food, fuel, and other necessities.
Egypt quickly used metal barricades and barbed wire to close off the gap in its barrier.
Since then, Palestinians seeking to enter Egypt have to go through extensive bureaucratic and security procedures, and the Rafah crossing is strictly regulated.
How does crossing the Rafah border normally go?
On regular days, very few people can move via Rafah; only foreign nationals and Gazans with permits can utilize it to get from Gaza to Egypt.
When trying to enter the border, Gazans frequently have to wait a lengthy time. According to Seattle-based Palestinian American Jason Shawa, who now resides in Gaza, the procedure has taken him at least thirty days, although there may be three-month wait times.
According to him, visitors need both an entry authorization from Egypt and an exit permit from Hamas. He must follow the procedure and turn in his paperwork to a Hamas government office to get permission to leave the region. He would get a text message a few days later with the day he could go, which could be as soon as three months from now.
Travelers would take a bus on the day of departure from the Palestinian side of the border to the Egyptian side, where they would have to wait for hours for the processing of their visa applications by Egyptian officials. Shawa claimed that many tourists are turned away and that Palestinians are frequently harassed there.
Why won’t Egypt allow Gazans to use the crossing?
Egypt is concerned about the possibility of thousands more Palestinian refugees entering its country, even though it currently accommodates millions of migrants. Gaza is home to more than two million Palestinians.
Recently, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi stated that his nation is making limited attempts to assist.
Naturally, we are sympathetic. Be cautious, though; even as we sympathize, we must constantly use our brains to find safety and peace in a way that doesn’t cost us much,” he warned.
A lot of people have also taken offense at the notion of forcing the people of Gaza into exile by forcing them out of Gaza. The majority of Gazans, whose ancestors originated in regions that are now part of Israel, are registered as refugees with the UN.
“I believe that the usual suspects are trying to create de facto problems on the ground with that strategy. There are none in Jordan. Egypt does not accept refugees, stated King Abdullah of Jordan.
Egypt has urged Israel to open Rafah to humanitarian aid, but it has refused to accede to US demands to create a secure passage for civilians within Egyptian territory.
