DaysofPal- Authorities in the Gaza Strip announced on Wednesday that operations at the Rafah crossing will resume on Thursday, March 26, 2026, following a temporary suspension.
In a brief statement, the crossings and borders authority said 18 patients will be allowed to leave Gaza, accompanied by 33 escorts, under humanitarian arrangements designated for medical cases.
The decision comes after the crossing was partially reopened on March 19 under previously established procedures, before being closed again from March 23 until March 25.
Israeli occupation forces had shut down the crossing during the escalation linked to the war involving Iran, even though it had been operating on a limited basis under strict conditions, with no more than 45 travelers permitted per day.
The Rafah crossing had previously remained closed for 16 months following the military incursion into the city of Rafah during the war, significantly restricting movement for residents in Gaza.
The limited reopening is expected to provide critical relief for patients in need of treatment outside the territory, though access remains tightly controlled and restricted to a small number of cases.
This limited resumption of travel arrives amid a catastrophic health breakdown in the territory. The Ministry of Health in Gaza reports that between six and ten patients die each day while waiting to travel abroad for treatment due to ongoing Israeli restrictions.
Zaher al-Wahidi, director of the ministry’s information department, stated that approximately 1,400 patients out of 20,000 have died since May 7, 2024, the date control over the Rafah crossing was established. Al-Wahidi emphasized that these figures reflect a rapidly worsening health crisis that the current scale of evacuations cannot fully address.
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