Gaza's Rafah Crossing Reopens, But Only 5 Patients Escape

After 18 months of closure, Gaza's lifeline to the outside world cracked open on Monday—but barely. The Rafah crossing's much-anticipated reopening allowed just 5 critically ill patients to escape for medical treatment and 12 Palestinians to return home, falling drastically short of the 50 people Israeli officials had promised could move in each direction.

The numbers tell a stark story. While 5 patients crossed into Egypt, an estimated 20,000 children and adults remain trapped on Gaza's side of the border, desperately awaiting medical care that could save their lives. Among them is a boy who lost sight in both eyes from Israeli bombardment, and Joumana, a girl seriously wounded in an air attack whose mother still waits anxiously for approval to leave.

The Bureaucratic Bottleneck

What Israeli authorities called a "pilot reopening" revealed itself as an exercise in controlled access rather than humanitarian relief. The crossing, once Gaza's main gateway to the world before Israel seized it in May 2024, now operates under "exacting security clearance processes" that create hours-long delays.

Only Palestinians who left Gaza during the war are permitted re-entry, and each person must navigate complex bureaucratic hurdles. Ambulances queued for hours on Monday, their patients inside waiting to cross a border that remains more closed than open.

The restrictions extend beyond people. Essential medicines and humanitarian supplies remain blocked, leaving Palestinian lives "at the mercy" of Israeli administrative decisions, as Al Jazeera's Tareq Abu Azzoum reported from southern Gaza.

A Crossing That Divides More Than It Connects

Before October 2023, Rafah served as Gaza's primary connection to the outside world—the only crossing not controlled by Israel. Its closure transformed the already besieged territory into something approaching a hermetically sealed prison.

Tom Fletcher, UN undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs, called the partial reopening insufficient, emphasizing that Rafah must function as "a genuine humanitarian corridor" rather than a symbolic gesture. The gap between promise and reality reflects broader patterns in how humanitarian access operates in Gaza.

Qatar, which helped negotiate the ceasefire deal, welcomed the opening as "a step in the right direction" while urging full implementation. Yet the modest numbers—5 out versus 20,000 waiting—suggest that direction leads to a very distant destination.

The Human Cost of Administrative Control

Each of the 5 patients who crossed on Monday represents both hope and heartbreak—hope for those few who escaped, heartbreak for the thousands left behind. Randa Abu Mustafa's son, who lost his sight, was among the fortunate few. But his individual salvation highlights the arbitrary nature of who gets to live and who must wait.

The crossing's reopening coincided with continued violence across Gaza. Israeli attacks killed at least 3 Palestinians on Monday alone, bringing the total death toll since October 2023 to at least 71,800, with 171,555 injured according to Palestinian health authorities.