Rafah Crossing between Gaza and Egypt open for first time since start of Iran war

Gaza’s Rafah crossing with Egypt has reopened, Egyptian state-linked media reports, for the first time since Israel closed it on February 28 when it launched strikes on the Iranian regime alongside the United States.

Al-Qahera News, which is close to Egypt’s intelligence services, says the crossing reopened “in both directions” and aired footage showing a small number of Palestinians — including those who had been receiving medical treatment in Egypt — preparing to cross from the Egyptian side back into Gaza.

The footage also showed several ambulances waiting to receive Palestinian patients coming out of the Strip.

Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories said this week that the decision to reopen the crossing was made following a fresh assessment and “an examination of the conditions enabling the resumption of operations at the crossing, while maintaining the necessary security restrictions in light of the security situation and the threats in the area.”

The crossing had been expected to reopen yesterday, and it was unclear why it didn’t.