Aid Trucks in Egypt’s Rafah Move Towards Border Crossing With Gaza

GAZA – Ambulances and aid trucks lined up on Monday (February 2) and moved towards the gate on Egypt’s side of Rafah crossing with Gaza.

The Egyptian Red Crescent said in a statement on Monday, that it had raised its state of readiness at the Rafah crossing, deployed teams to receive patients and wounded from Gaza, and prepared humanitarian services, including medical assistance and psychosocial support.

Israel reopened the border between Gaza and Egypt on Monday for people on foot, a move that would allow Palestinians to leave the enclave and let back in those who want to return after fleeing Israel’s war in the enclave.

The reopening of the Rafah border crossing will be limited, with Israel demanding security checks for Palestinians entering and exiting. Israel and Egypt were expected to impose caps on the number of travelers.

Israel seized the border crossing in May 2024, about nine months into the Gaza war that was brought to a tenuous halt by an October ceasefire brokered by U.S. President Donald Trump. Rafah’s reopening was an important requirement under the first phase of Trump’s broader plan to stop fighting between Israel and Hamas militants.