The Japan Times - Gazans long for reopening of 'lifeline' Rafah crossing

The Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt is the Palestinian territory's only gateway to the outside world that does not lead to Israel and is a key entry point for both people and goods.

It has been closed since Israeli forces took control of it in May 2024, except for a limited reopening in early 2025, and other bids to reopen failed to materialise.

Following a US-brokered ceasefire that took effect in October, Rafah is expected to reopen for pedestrians, after visiting US envoys reportedly pressed Israeli officials to reopen the crossing.

"Opening the Rafah crossing means opening the door to life for me. I haven't seen my wife and children for two years since they left at the beginning of the war and I was prevented from travelling," said 48-year-old Mahmud al-Natour, who hails from Gaza City.

"My children are growing up far away from me, and the years are passing by as if we are cut off from the world and life itself," he told AFP.

Randa Samih, 48, also called the crossing "the lifeline of Gaza," but is worried about whether she would be able to leave.

She had applied for an exit permit to get treatment for her injured back, which she fears might not be serious enough to be allowed out.

"There are tens of thousands of injuries in Gaza, most of them more serious than mine," she said.

"We'll die or our health will decline before we get to travel."

- 'Limited reopening' -

Gaza, a tiny territory surrounded by Israel, Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea, has been under Israeli blockade even before Hamas's attack sparked the war.

Palestinian militants took 251 people hostage on October 7, 2023, in an attack that killed 1,221 others, most of them civilians.

Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed at least 71,662 Palestinians, according to figures from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza that the United Nations considers reliable. The ministry does not say how many of the dead were fighters, though its data shows that more than half were women and children.

Ali Shaath heads the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), created as part of the ceasefire agreement. He announced last week that Rafah would reopen in both directions.

Israel said it would only allow pedestrians to travel through the crossing as part of its "limited reopening" once it had recovered the remains of the last hostage, Ran Gvili.

His remains were brought back to Israel later on Monday.

A Palestinian official told AFP on condition of anonymity that "estimates indicate that the Rafah crossing could be opened in both directions by the end of this week or early next week".

A member of the NCAG told AFP that the technocratic committee would be responsible for sending lists of travellers' names to the Israeli authorities for approval.

Outward travel will intially be limited to patients, the injured, students with university admission and visas, and holders of Egyptian citizenship or other nationalities and residency permits, the source said.

- 'Burning with anticipation' -

Gharam al-Jamla, a displaced Palestinian living in a tent in southern Gaza, told AFP she counted on the crossing's opening for her future.

"My dreams lie beyond the Rafah crossing. I applied for several scholarships to study journalism in English at universities in Turkey. I received initial acceptance from two universities there," the 18-year-old said.

She added she would then want to return to Gaza "to be one of its voices to convey the truth to the world."

Gaza's civil defence agency spokesman, Mahmud Bassal, appealed for the full reopening of Rafah to allow the entry of unlimited aid and equipment for reconstruction.

"There are thousands of bodies under the rubble, including children, women and people with disabilities, which have not been recovered since the beginning of the war," he said.

The civil defence is a rescue force operating under Hamas authority.

Mohammed Khaled, 18, said he wanted to move on from the war.

"I'm burning with anticipation," he told AFP.

"I haven't seen my mother and sisters for two years. My mother travelled for medical treatment, and they only allowed my sisters to accompany her."

Khaled said he also hoped to be able to travel to have surgery for a shrapnel injury sustained during the war.

M.Ito--JT