Rafah Crossing could open 7 days a week, says EU mission chief

By Lazar Berman

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26 February 2026, 1:49 pm

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Lazar Berman is The Times of Israel's diplomatic reporter

Ambulances line up to enter the Egyptian gate of the Rafah crossing into the Gaza Strip, in Rafah, Egypt, Feb. 2, 2026. (AP/Mohamed Arafat)

The Rafah Border Crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip could open seven days a week in the foreseeable future, says the head of the European Union monitoring mission at the site.

It currently is open five days a week, but there is a push to increase the number of people moving through the crossing, according to Nataliya Apostolova, head of the mission, known as EUBAM. There is currently an average of 45 people moving through the crossing in each direction every day.

Some 86% of those who have entered since the crossing was reopened in both directions on February 2 have been women and children, she says.