Since the partial reopening of the Rafah crossing point, linking the Gaza Strip and Egypt, images of celebrations accompanying the return of exiled Gazans have multiplied. But for many, the few dozen crossings authorized daily portend above all a long and painful wait.

Published on: 02/16/2026 - 5:59 p.m. Modified on: 02/23/2026 - 11:52 a.m.

A bouquet, party favors and a crowd of journalists and people who came to film an emotional reunion between loved ones. With the partial reopening, on February 2, of the Rafah crossing point, which allows movement between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, the return of the first groups of Gazans exiled to this country has often taken on a festive air. The return to operation of this crucial border post, closed since its capture by the Israeli army in May 2024, is provided for in the peace plan for Gaza signed on October 9 by the belligerents.

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After several checks, Palestinians who wish to return to the Gaza Strip enter by bus, accompanied by United Nations personnel and by men wearing uniforms in the colors of Egypt, as shown in images filmed by Al Jazeera correspondent Hani al-Shaer.

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But in the other direction, the partial reopening of the passage also allows injured or seriously ill people to pass into Egypt, so that they can receive care. According to the UN, only 14 of the 36 hospitals in the Gaza Strip were still functional as of October 2025, with health facilities in the enclave having been targeted by at least 700 attacks by the Israeli army since its operations began in October 2023.

The arrival of these Gazan patients was widely covered by the local and international press, which can access the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing point. The Palestinian side, for its part, still within the perimeter of the “yellow line” controlled by Israel, remains inaccessible to foreign media.

But the number of people authorized to cross in both directions remains extremely low given the needs. The website of EUBAM, a European mission responsible for observing and assisting the operations of the Palestinian authorities in Rafah, mentions "80 to 100 crossings per day in total". This flow would be made up of around 50 voluntary returnees in one direction, and 50 people with medical emergencies wishing to leave the Gaza Strip in the other. They can be accompanied by a maximum of two relatives.

According to the Gaza Strip Ministry of Health, 20,000 people are waiting to receive medical care abroad. At this rate, it would theoretically take more than a year to allow them all to leave the Gaza Strip.

“My son’s name hasn’t come out, how long will he have to wait?”

These trickle-down evacuations create a difficult wait for people in need of care unavailable in the Gaza Strip. This is the case of Ibrahim – the first name has been changed to preserve his anonymity – a young boy of around ten years old injured in the summer of 2025 by the explosion of an Israeli bomb. Affected in the spine, he has since been paraplegic, and had to have a limb amputated, according to a photo and medical documents shared by his family with the Observers editorial staff.

Khadija (pseudonym), his mother, wants to go to Egypt with him as quickly as possible, so that he can receive care adapted to his condition.

"My son cannot walk, he is currently in a hospital dedicated to rehabilitation. But because of the lack of places, we will only leave him here for two or three months at most, while he needs six or seven months of rehabilitation. It's useless to him. It caused inflammation, and he can't use it for his rehabilitation, so he refuses to wear it. That's why we hope he can cross to continue his treatment abroad, and benefit from a prosthesis. In addition, his father is already in Egypt, he left before the war. He wants to see his son, and his son wants to find him.

Ibrahim could not be one of the first people evacuated in recent days. His mother fears he will be stuck in the Gaza Strip for months more.

"His name has not come out. We are suffering because of this departure from Gaza, we have to wait our turn to leave. They reopened the crossing, but it's as if nothing had happened. They let so few people through. Some people authorized to leave tell us that they have sometimes been registered on the registers for two years. How long will my son have to wait?"

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“I am reaching the end of my savings, and here I cannot work as a journalist”

On the other side of Rafah, in Egypt, journalist Hamza Chalan is also waiting, in the hope of being able to return to his country. Leaving the Gaza Strip in May 2024, a few days before the Israeli army took control of the Rafah post, he was one of the first to register on the lists of candidates for voluntary return provided by the Palestinian embassy in Cairo.

“I came to Cairo with my mother and father, just before it became impossible. It cost us a lot of money [he mentions the equivalent of several thousand euros], but my father suffered from kidney failure, he needed dialysis, which was no longer available in Gaza. He died last year.”

In addition to this mourning, Hamza Chalan finds himself in a difficult financial situation, which also motivates his departure. He says he had to sell parts of his professional equipment to be able to pay for food or rent.

"Going to Egypt was a good decision, I don't regret it. But we are reaching the end of my savings, and here, I am in an irregular situation, I cannot work as a journalist. So we survive month after month. In Gaza, I can do my job as a journalist. When I was there, I worked with Danish national television, I participated in the production of a documentary, I was a correspondent for other media. I want to come back to do what I love. Returning is a difficult decision to make when you have no means of substance there, but that is not the case for me. I also have responsibilities in Gaza, my eight sisters remained there and they need help. My mother is going to be 70 years old and she wants to see her daughters again.

“It is said that there are armed gangs who check your luggage”

When he talks about the controls to return to Gaza, about which he seems to have learned a lot, Hamza Chalan expresses a mixture of fear and optimism.

"From what I have heard from colleagues who have already made the crossing, we first go through Egyptian controls, then Palestinian controls, which are managed by the Palestinian Authority [active mainly in the West Bank, unlike the Gaza government, controlled by Hamas, Editor's note]. Then, they say that there are armed gangs who control your luggage. They prohibit almost everything, I know for example that I will not be able to return with my equipment. journalist. They also interrogate you, you are at their mercy. Finally, they take you to the Israeli side, where they do the same thing to you. I have no problem with the questions, I am not involved in anything political, and in any armed group, but if anyone has the slightest member of their family linked to anything, these gangs are made up of people who escaped from prison. fire."

The Observers editorial team has already documented the existence of armed gangs in Gaza, some of which are supported by the Israeli army and operate in the areas it controls. At least one of these gangs was actually led by a convict, Yasser Abou Shabab, a former drug trafficker. He has since been killed in a firefight in December 2025. We have not yet been able to independently verify several testimonies claiming that these gangs operate at the Rafah crossing point. We will publish the collected information as soon as possible.

A broadcast published by the Observers editorial staff in November 2025 already documented the existence of Palestinian armed groups operating in coordination with the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip.

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"I realize that I'm waiting, but I'm not even sure I'll be able to cross to Gaza. If I get rejected in Egypt, it would be really crazy. It's the worst time of my life, I have no real choice, no freedom, everything is out of my control. As a Palestinian, I have no right to self-determination. We do things anyway, clinging to hope."

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