Gaza’s Rafah border crossing reopens, but few have been allowed to cross : NPR
Gaza’s main border crossing reopened on Monday after being closed for most of the war, but few people were allowed to cross.
TO MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
Gaza’s main border crossing has reopened after being closed for most of the war. The reopening of the Gaza-Egypt border is a key step in President Trump’s ceasefire deal, but so far very few people have been allowed to cross. This is NPR’s Daniel Estrin.
DANIEL ESTRIN, BYLINE: The Rafah border crossing is Gaza’s main portal to the outside world, a portal that has been largely sealed for most of the war. Israeli troops took control and Israel refused to let the border reopen until the last Israeli hostage body was recovered from Gaza last week. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Palestinians could now come and go to the Rafah border.
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PRIME MINISTER BENJAMIN NETANYAHU: Rafah will be open in both directions. The numbers are…I don’t remember the exact number. More than fifty family members, I think, entering. Who are going out, more or less, more, if people want to leave, we will not prevent anyone from leaving.
ESTRIN: But when the border opened Monday, it only opened a crack. Gaza health officials say only five Palestinians have been allowed to leave for medical treatment abroad with their companions. A group of 50 people had been told they could leave, like Ibrahim Al-Thuraya (ph), who spoke to journalists in Gaza.
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IBRAHIM AL-THURAYA: (Non-English language spoken).
ESTRIN: “I lost vision in my left eye. I still have shrapnel behind my eye,” he says. He was injured during the war and has been waiting nine months for permission to travel abroad for medical treatment. Health officials in Gaza say that around 20,000 Palestinians must travel abroad to receive medical care that is not available in Gaza, and Israeli military attacks on Gaza continue to kill and injure Palestinians today. On Monday, only nine women and three children were allowed to cross the border in the opposite direction, returning to Gaza after receiving medical treatment in Egypt during the war.
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UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: (Crying).
ESTRIN: Al Jazeera showed video of emotional scenes when these privileged few were allowed to return to Gaza after Israeli military security checks they described as humiliating.
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ASMAA AL-RIQIB: (non-English language spoken).
ESTRIN: The Palestinian news site Donia Al-Watan published an interview on Facebook with Asmaa Al-Riqib (ph). She said she and her mother were blindfolded, tied up and questioned about Hamas and the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 that started the war. The United States has urged Israel to allow the border to reopen, but even tougher steps remain, such as disarming Hamas. Now the United States and Israel are focusing on Iran. US envoy Steve Witkoff meets with Netanyahu and Israeli officials today. President Trump says he wants a deal with Iran. A person briefed on the matter and not authorized to speak publicly told NPR that Israeli officials are pushing for a deal to end Iran’s uranium enrichment, restrict its missiles and end its support for regional militant groups like Hamas. Otherwise, Israel wants the United States to attack Iran.
Daniel Estrin, NPR News, Tel Aviv.
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