Israel reopened the border between Gaza and Egypt on Monday for people on foot, a move that would allow Palestinians to leave the enclave and let back in those who want to return after fleeing Israel’s war in the enclave.

The reopening of the Rafah border crossing will be limited, with Israel demanding security checks for Palestinians entering and exiting. Israel and Egypt were expected to impose caps on the number of travellers.

Israel seized the border crossing in May 2024, about nine months into the Gaza war that was brought to a tenuous halt by an October ceasefire brokered by United States President Donald Trump.

Rafah’s reopening was an important requirement under the first phase of Trump’s broader plan to stop fighting between Israel and Hamas militants.

An Israeli security official said that European monitoring teams had arrived at the crossing, which “has now opened to the movement of residents, for both entry and exit.”

In the first nine months of Israel’s assault in Gaza, launched after the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on southern Israel, Palestinians were generally able to flee to Egypt through the Rafah crossing.

Palestinian officials say about 100 000 Palestinians have fled Gaza since the war began, most of them during the first nine months.

Some were sponsored by aid groups. Others paid bribes to parties in Egypt to secure permission to leave.

Israel closed the Rafah crossing after its forces swept into the area and has also closed the Philadelphi corridor that runs the length of Gaza’s border with Egypt.

The closure cut off an important route for wounded and sick Palestinians to seek medical care outside Gaza.

A few thousand have been allowed out to seek medical treatment in third countries via Israel over the past year, though thousands more are in need of care abroad, according to the United Nations.

–Reuters–