Rafah Crossing Partially Reopens Under U.S.-Backed Gaza Ceasefire

Egypt briefly reopened Gaza’s Rafah border crossing on Sunday after a two‑day closure, allowing a limited number of Palestinians to move between Gaza and Egypt as part of a U.S.-backed ceasefire framework. Egyptian state media said patients and other travelers began crossing around midday, though Israel and the Israeli defense body overseeing the crossing did not immediately confirm the reopening. U.N. data show that in the first four days since Rafah initially reopened on Feb. 2, only 36 Palestinians needing medical care and 62 companions were allowed to leave, despite Palestinian officials saying nearly 20,000 people are seeking treatment that war‑shattered Gaza can no longer provide. Patients and families describe long delays and what they call mistreatment and invasive searches by Israeli forces and an Israeli-backed Palestinian armed group, Abu Shabab, while European Union monitors and Palestinian officials formally run the crossing and Israel screens travelers at a separate facility. The reopening comes as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prepares to visit Washington for talks his office says will focus mainly on Iran, underscoring how the tightly controlled Rafah corridor, the fragile Gaza ceasefire and U.S. regional diplomacy are now intertwined.