Israel partially reopens Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza in pilot

Israel says it has partially reopened the critical Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt, in a limited capacity.

Israel announced on Sunday that the crossing had been reopened as part of a trial. Separately, COGAT, the Israeli military agency that controls aid to Gaza, said in a statement that the crossing was being actively prepared for a more comprehensive operation, adding that Gaza residents would begin crossing on Monday.

“In accordance with the ceasefire agreement and a directive from the political level, the Rafah crossing was opened today for the limited passage of residents only,” COGAT said.

The Israeli military said it had completed a complex that will serve as a control center for Palestinians entering and exiting Gaza through the Rafah crossing, which will open to some people’s movement on Monday.

Rafah has been largely closed since its seizure by Israel in May 2024, amid the country’s two-year genocidal war against Gaza.

Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud, reporting from Khan Younis in southern Gaza, said the reopening of the crossing was an “uncomfortable dynamic.”

“The Palestinians want to leave, but at the same time they fear they will not be able to return,” he said. “People said the purpose of their departure would be strictly for a medical evacuation or to continue their studies, and that they wanted to come back later. »

Ismail al-Thawabta, director of the Gaza government’s media office, told Al Jazeera that around 80,000 Palestinians who left Gaza during the Israeli war are seeking to return.

An estimated 22,000 wounded and sick people are also in “urgent need” to leave Gaza for treatment abroad, he added.

Israeli attacks continue

An Israeli drone attack on Sunday killed one person northwest of the town of Rafah in southern Gaza, according to a source at the Nasser Medical Complex.

Palestinian media confirmed the death of Khaled Hammad Ahmed Dahleez, 63, in the Al-Shakoush area.

Meanwhile, in central Gaza, an Israeli drone attack killed a Palestinian in the Wadi Gaza area.

The attacks came after at least 31 people were killed Saturday in multiple Israeli air raids on northern and southern Gaza.

Israeli forces have killed at least 511 Palestinians and injured 1,405 since the start of the war. A “ceasefire” supported by the United States» on October 10.

Israel to ban MSF

The Israeli government dealt another blow to the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, announcing on Sunday that it will end the humanitarian operations of Doctors Without Borders, known by its French acronym MSF, in the besieged Palestinian territory, after failing to provide a list of its Palestinian staff.

The move follows “MSF’s inability to submit lists of local staff, a requirement applicable to all humanitarian organizations operating in the region,” Israel’s Ministry of Diaspora and Combating Anti-Semitism said.

In December, Israel announced It would prevent 37 humanitarian organizations, including MSF, from working in Gaza from March 1 for failing to submit detailed information on their Palestinian employees, drawing widespread condemnation from NGOs and the United Nations.

Israel’s decision to end MSF operations in Gaza “is an extension of Israel’s militarization and systematic instrumentalization of aid,” James Smith, a London-based emergency doctor, told Al Jazeera.

“Israel has systematically targeted the Palestinian healthcare system, killing more than 1,700 Palestinian healthcare professionals,” thereby “creating a deep dependence on international organizations,” Smith said.