About 150 people expected to leave Gaza on first day border is unsealed out of 20,000 adults and children who need medical care

Sick and wounded Palestinians have begun crossing into Egypt to seek medical treatment after Israel permitted a limited reopening of the Palestinian territory’s Rafah border post as fragile diplomatic efforts to stabilise the conflict inch forward.

About 150 people were due to leave the territory on Monday, and 50 to enter it, according to Egyptian officials, more than 20 months after Israeli forces closed the crossing.

Ambulances waited for hours at the border before ferrying patients across after sunset, footage from Egyptian state-run television showed. The crossing had been closed since Israeli troops seized it in May 2024, only briefly opening during a ceasefire in early 2025 for the evacuation of medical patients.

About 20,000 Palestinian children and adults needing medical care hope to leave the devastated territory via the crossing, according to Gaza health officials. Thousands of other Palestinians outside the territory hope to enter and return home.

When Israel took control of the Rafah crossing – Gaza’s only crossing not shared with Israel – it had described it as necessary to prevent weapons smuggling by Hamas. The move isolated the territory, cutting off a critical lifeline for Palestinians seeking access to medical care, travel and trade.

Read More: Sick and wounded Palestinians enter Egypt after Israel reopens Rafah crossing