The Rafah crossing on the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt has begun operating in test mode, with the Egyptian side preparing to receive Palestinians who will begin leaving the enclave to receive medical treatment on Monday, February 2, News.Az reports, citing TASS.
According to the television channel, several dozen ambulance cars are currently waiting on the Egyptian side of the crossing. All medical establishments in Egypt have been put on high alert to handle patients from Gaza. Representatives of the EU mission are on duty on the Palestinian side of the crossing.
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Last time wounded Palestinians were evacuated to Egypt via the Rafah checkpoint in February 2025. Throughout 2025, humanitarian cargoes were reaching the Gaza Strip via the Kerem Shalom and El-Aouga crossings after checks by the Israeli military.
Tensions flared up in the Middle East on October 7, 2023, when militants from the Gaza Strip-based radical Palestinian movement Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel, killing residents of border settlements and taking more than 250 hostages. In response, Israel initiated a military operation in the Palestinian enclave to dismantle Hamas’ military and political structures and free all hostages.
Israel and Hamas resumed Egypt-, Qatar-, United States-, and Turkey-mediated indirect talks on settling the situation in the Gaza Strip on October 6. On October 9, the parties to the conflict signed an agreement on the implementation of phase one of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza ceasefire plan. The ceasefire came into effect on October 10. Under the agreement, Israeli troops withdrew to the so-called Yellow Line but retained control over more than 50% of the enclave’s territory.
