A dozen injured Palestinians and companions entered Egypt on the first day of the Rafah border’s limited reopening, offering a glimmer of hope for Gaza’s dire humanitarian situation.
RAFAH: A handful of injured Palestinians and their companions entered Egypt from Gaza on Monday.
This marked the first day of a limited reopening of the Rafah border crossing, a source on the Egyptian side told AFP.
“Five injured people and seven companions” crossed the border, the source said on Tuesday.
The number of patients allowed to enter was limited to 50 on Monday, each accompanied by two companions, according to three officials at the Egyptian border.
An Egyptian health official said three ambulances had arrived with Palestinian patients who were screened upon arrival.
AlQahera News, citing Egypt’s health ministry, reported that 150 hospitals and 300 ambulances had been prepared to receive patients.
It said 12,000 doctors and 30 rapid deployment teams had been allocated to work with those transferred.
The director of Gaza City’s Al-Shifa Hospital, Mohammed Abu Salmiya, said there were 20,000 patients in the territory in urgent need of treatment, including 4,500 children.
The reopening is a key part of the second phase of US President Donald Trump’s truce plan for Gaza.
Humanitarian conditions remain dire after two years of war.
The partial resumption of operations comes after Israeli forces seized control of the gateway to Egypt in May 2024.
Gaza’s civil defence reported dozens killed in a wave of Israeli strikes over the weekend.
Ali Shaath, head of a Palestinian technocratic committee for Gaza’s governance, said Rafah’s reopening offered a “window of hope” for the territory.
There was no official announcement of the number of people who returned to Gaza via the crossing.
