RAFAH, Gaza Strip — Gaza’s main gateway to Egypt reopened Monday for limited pedestrian travel under an Israeli-Egyptian agreement that allows only a small number of preapproved Palestinians to leave or enter, Feb. 2, 2026.
Israel and Egypt said the Rafah border crossing is operating under European Union supervision as part of a ceasefire framework, with travelers vetted by both countries and entry and exit tightly controlled, according to a Reuters report.
Rafah border crossing rules: foot traffic only, tight screening
Officials said about 50 people were expected to cross in each direction on the first day, a pace that highlights how limited the initial reopening remains. The crossing is the only route that lets most of Gaza’s residents access the outside world without transiting Israel.
Under the procedures described by Israeli and Egyptian officials, travelers must be cleared in advance and walk through the Israeli-held Philadelphi corridor before reaching multiple checkpoints. One gate is administered by Palestinian Authority personnel under an EU team’s supervision, but is remotely controlled by Israel, officials said.
The crossing’s “soft opening” is focused on people, not goods. “No goods will pass through it,” the Associated Press reported, leaving humanitarian deliveries dependent on other entry points.
Medical evacuations are expected to dominate the early lists. “We have been waiting for the crossing to open,” said Rajaa Abu Mustafa, whose 17-year-old son is awaiting evacuation, according to the AP. Egyptian authorities said hospitals across Egypt have been prepared to receive patients arriving via the Rafah border crossing.
Why EU oversight is central
European Union monitoring is intended to bolster confidence in a process that both Israel and Egypt say must balance humanitarian movement with security screening. The pilot reopening is also a measure of whether the ceasefire can hold long enough to expand crossings and address wider governance questions.
Al Jazeera reported that international monitoring and phased travel approvals are embedded in the ceasefire roadmap, with any expansion expected to depend on the success of the initial vetting system.
Rafah border crossing in context
Israel seized the Rafah border crossing in May 2024 during its offensive in southern Gaza, shutting a major exit for civilians and disrupting a critical corridor at the Egypt-Gaza edge, as detailed in a Reuters live update at the time. The crossing reopened only briefly during a short ceasefire in early 2025 for limited medical evacuations.
European monitors are not new at Rafah. The EU first deployed a border assistance mission in 2005 and later suspended operations after Hamas took control of Gaza; in 2014, the bloc said it was willing to reactivate the mission as part of stabilization efforts, according to Reuters coverage from that year. In January 2025, EU foreign ministers agreed to redeploy the mission to support a ceasefire-linked reopening and help move injured people to treatment, a step reported in another Reuters dispatch.
Whether the Rafah border crossing can scale up now depends on security conditions, coordination among Israeli, Egyptian and Palestinian officials, and the durability of the ceasefire. For families trying to reunite and patients seeking treatment abroad, even a tightly controlled reopening is a rare opening — and a reminder of how much of Gaza’s future still hinges on a single gate.
