Entry to Gaza from Egypt will involve Israeli security screening

Rafah Crossing opens after over a year, with limited pedestrian passage to start Monday

COGAT says ‘pilot program’ assessing operation of crossing, as Palestinian security officers join EU mission on Gazan side of border gate to oversee mechanism

The Rafah Border Crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt opened Sunday for a day of systems checks and tests ahead of its expected opening for pedestrians Monday, Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) agency said.

While COGAT said that the crossing between Gaza and Egypt had reopened and that a “pilot is underway to test and assess the operation of the crossing,” no pedestrians would actually be able to cross the border until Monday, despite earlier statements saying pedestrians would begin crossing on Sunday.

“The movement of residents in both directions, entry and exit to and from Gaza, is expected to begin tomorrow,” said the agency, the Defense Ministry body for Palestinian civilian affairs.

COGAT said that the crossing would open for the “limited passage” of Gazan Palestinians in both directions, in accordance with the ceasefire deal. It said the so-called “pilot phase” on Sunday was being “conducted in coordination with the European Union Border Assistance Mission (EUBAM), Egypt, and all relevant stakeholders,” and “all involved parties are carrying out a series of preliminary preparations aimed at increasing readiness for full operation of the crossing.”

“The actual passage of residents in both directions will begin upon completion of these preparations,” it added.

While no Gazans will be allowed through the border on Sunday, the crossing showed signs of life for the first time in nearly a year since it was closed last March with the collapse of a ceasefire signed in January 2025.

Palestinian security officers passed through the crossing’s Egyptian gate and headed toward the Palestinian gate to join a European Union 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 reopening is expected to facilitate the entry of a 15-member Palestinian technocratic body, the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), established to oversee the day-to-day governance of the territory’s 2.2 million residents.

The committee, established under the ceasefire deal, will be supervised by the so-called “Board of Peace” chaired by US President Donald Trump.

However, the NCAG, headed by former Palestinian Authority deputy minister Ali Shaath, is not expected to enter the Gaza Strip on Sunday, a member of the committee said.

“The head of the committee was informed that Israel had approved the entry of the members into Gaza but has not yet set a date,” he told AFP. “We call on the mediators and the US administration to accelerate operations at the crossing and increase the number of travelers.”

According to Shaath, travel in both directions would start Monday.

Multi-step mechanism

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel will allow 50 medical 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.

In addition, some 50 people who left Gaza during the war would be allowed to return each day.

The number of travelers is expected to increase over time if the system is successful.

Last week, The Times of Israel reported that all Gazan Palestinians seeking to enter or leave the Strip will be required to receive Egyptian approval, and Egypt was to send the names to Israel’s Shin Bet domestic security service for clearance.

Israel will supervise the exit of Gazans to Egypt remotely. From a control room, Israeli officers, using facial recognition software, will verify that those leaving the Strip are on the list of approved names, and open up a gate at the crossing to allow them through.

Israeli officials said each name would be looked at individually, and if any top terror commanders would seek to leave Gaza, they would be denied.

The entry into Gaza from Egypt will, however, include an Israeli security screening, as those Palestinians will arrive at an IDF checkpoint after passing through the Rafah Crossing. Only afterward will they be permitted to continue toward the Hamas-controlled areas of Gaza.

There are no plans to allow the crossing to be used for aid and goods, which go through other crossings where they are screened by Israel for contraband, especially weapons.

In the years before the war, Hamas used the Rafah Crossing to bring in numerous weapons and other supplies into the Strip for its military wing, without any Israeli oversight, according to the IDF and security officials.

The Israeli defense establishment is backing an idea for a tri-border crossing between Israel, Egypt and Gaza, where the current Kerem Shalom Crossing is located.

Medical patients anxious to cross for treatment

Rafah, which Palestinians see as their gateway to the world, has been largely shut since it was seized by Israel in May 2024. About 20,000 Palestinians 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.

According to data from COGAT, some 42,000 Gazans left the Strip during the war, the vast majority of them patients seeking medical treatment abroad or dual citizens.

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.

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.

“Every day that passes drains my life and worsens my condition,” said Mohammed Shamiya, 33, who suffers from kidney disease and requires dialysis treatment abroad. “I’m waiting every moment for the opening of the Rafah land crossing.”

Safa al-Hawajri, who has received a scholarship to study overseas, was also eagerly anticipating the reopening.

“I’m waiting in the hope of fulfilling my ambition, which is tied to the reopening of the crossing,” said Hawajri, 18. “I hope to be able to travel as soon as it opens.”