COGAT, the Israeli military body overseeing aid to Gaza, said on Sunday that the crossing will operate in both directions for Gaza residents on foot only, with coordination involving Egypt and the European Union.
Israel has said it will reopen the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt on Monday in a limited “pilot phase,” as thousands of sick and wounded Palestinians wait for treatment abroad.
COGAT, the Israeli military body overseeing aid to Gaza, said on Sunday that the crossing will operate in both directions for Gaza residents on foot only, with coordination involving Egypt and the European Union.
“Today, a pilot is underway to test and assess the operation of the crossing,” the agency said in a statement. “Movement in both directions into and out of Gaza is expected to begin tomorrow.”
The announcement followed Israel’s completion of a screening facility for Palestinians travelling through the crossing.
Rafah is Gaza’s only border crossing not controlled directly by Israel and was previously jointly managed by Palestinian and Egyptian authorities in coordination with Israel before the war.
The crossing has been closed for nearly two years since Israeli forces took control of it in May 2024 during the war in Gaza.
In the initial phase, about 200 people mainly patients and accompanying relatives are expected to cross daily into Egypt, while around 50 people will return to Gaza each day, officials said.
Lists of those approved to travel were submitted by Egypt and cleared by Israel, Reuters reported.
Video footage from AFP showed ambulances lined up on the Egyptian side of the border, ready to receive medical evacuees.
Among those hoping to leave Gaza is 65-year-old Abed El Halim Abo Askar, who has been fighting cancer for four years. He had been scheduled for surgery on October 10, 2023, but the outbreak of war days earlier delayed his treatment.
Abo Askar’s 28-year-old daughter, Shaima, was killed in the first month of the conflict along with her husband and two daughters in an Israeli air strike in Gaza City.
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