It’s the border-crossing re-opening that wasn’t.
Twenty-five Palestinians were allowed passage through the Rafah border crossing in each direction on Feb. 4, an EU official told the Times of Israel. Those entering Egypt included patients and their family members, said the official. It is not reported how many were refused passage.
Returnees were limited to Palestinians who had fled Gaza during the genocide, reported Middle East Eye. Those who left before October 7, 2023, and remained stranded abroad, are still barred from returning.
As of late January, at least 30,000 Palestinians had registered with the Palestinian Embassy in Cairo to return to Gaza, according to an embassy official. Under Israel’s quota, even if the border operated six days a week, allowing 50 people per day, it would take just short of two years for those just in Cairo to return. Tens of thousands more remain stranded in other countries.
On Tuesday, Feb. 3, twelve Palestinians were allowed in, 9 women and 3 children. Another 30 were blocked from entry. Two of the women who entered gave accounts to MEE and other news outlets of being humiliated, beaten, and brutally interrogated by the Palestinian collaborators of Israel who escorted them to the IDF checkpoint and the Israeli troops who manned it. “One male and one female officer were present at the checkpoint. The male officer relentlessly asked: ‘Who do you know from Hamas? Is anyone in your family affiliated with Hamas? Why does Hamas use you as human shields? Why return to Gaza? Why didn’t you stay in Egypt?’” reported Huda Abu Abed, a 57-year-old heart patient who was evacuated to Egypt in 2024. The male officer added: “Tell all the people of Gaza: pack your belongings and get out.” Abu Abed also accused the European border monitors of confiscating toys that she was bringing in as gifts for children in her family.
“After what we went through, I say no one should travel outside Gaza,” she said. “They want to force us out by all means.”
