What’s going on at the Rafah border crossing with Egypt?

The Rafah border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt is the last opportunity for Palestinians to leave the disputed area by land. Is it open now – or not?

The problem: It is currently unclear whether the border crossing is even open. The Egyptian government has recently repeatedly claimed that the border is open. However, independent journalists can hardly work on site, so no one knows for sure whether this information is correct.

It is also difficult to verify the information provided by a high-ranking Jordanian official, who recently told the US news channel CNN that the station in the Gaza Strip was “not functional” after Israeli attacks: “The Jordanians and Egyptians are waiting for security clearance from the Israelis to allow (aid) trucks to cross without the threat of another airstrike.” However, it is not known whether this is still the case.

Americans should be allowed to leave the country via Rafah

Rafah is the only border crossing from the Gaza Strip that does not lead into Israeli territory. In the past, the majority of aid deliveries to the Palestinians were carried through the road in the south of the autonomous region. Palestinians were only ever allowed to cross the border with a special permit.

Video | Crowds flee Gaza City

What: Reuters

On Saturday it was said that Egypt and the US had agreed that Americans currently in Gaza could leave the Palestinian territory via Rafah at short notice. However, it is still unclear when this might be the case and whether this could mean a general – complete – opening of the border for everyone.

Al-Sisi cautious about opening borders

One reason for the contradictory information and the hesitation on the Egyptian side is that the country has repeatedly opposed a larger influx of Palestinian refugees in the past. Like many Arab states, Egypt believes Israel is looking for an opportunity to permanently drive Palestinians out of Gaza – although there is no evidence of this.

Egypt’s head of state Abdel Fatah Al-Sisi recently said: “The Palestinian question is the question of all questions and the question of all Arabs. It is important that their people remain steadfast and present on their land, and we will make every effort to do so defend.”

At the same time, he pointed out that his country is already hosting nine million refugees. According to a UN report, most of them come from Sudan, Syria, Yemen and Libya.

EU Council President Charles Michel recently spoke out in favor of increasing international aid for Egypt. One can imagine what accepting more refugees means “for a country with some financial and economic challenges.” “It means we have to work with these countries,” Michel told the AP news agency. The aim is to “enable a corridor, a humanitarian corridor”.

Editor’s note: In an earlier version of this article, we referenced a video shared on X, formerly Twitter, showing ambulances and trucks waiting at the Egyptian border. However, these are older photographs and do not reflect the current situation. We have corrected the relevant section in the article and removed the video.