Gaza: Rafah Crossing opens two years on

By Arben Ndreca

Many questions were raised today as Israel opened the Rafah Crossing, connecting the southernmost part of Gaza with Egypt. A two-year-long war, which came to a halt last October, not only wrought havoc. It also changed, if not destroyed completely, the lives of thousands of residents.

Now, many of them, amongst whom are many ill people, are crossing the Gaza border hoping for treatment and better days in the neighbouring country.

However, it still seems to be difficult to understand who, and on what grounds, can leave Gaza for Egypt.

Officially, the border crossing is open for humanitarian cases, but what about the rest of the people who, either individually or in groups, would like to flee Gaza?

A number of issues still to be addressed

Another major issue is that of other people who are not referred to as “humanitarian cases”. Apparently, such questions have not been addressed by the Israeli authorities so far.

The crossing point authorities will reportedly operate for no longer than six hours a day, during which only 150 people are allowed to leave the Strip, whereas from the Egyptian side, only fifty individuals can cross into Gaza.

Head of Gaza’s City Al-Shifa hospital, Dr Mohammed Abu Salmiya, said that around twenty thousand Palestinians are in urgent need of medical treatment. To this figure must also be added 4.500 children in dire need of evacuation, as the prolonged war has annihilated the Gaza health services.

“Lives are still being lost”, says Dr Salmiya, “and evacuating only 50 patients every day” does not seem to meet the needs of the relocated populace.

Ambulances queuing in Egypt

Under such circumstances, allowing only a restricted number of patients to leave the country cannot seem to improve the current situation. On the other hand, the Israeli authorities have allowed medical supplies and additional medical staff to enter Gaza, but this is not sufficient, apparently.

On the other side of the border, in Egyptian territory, long queues of ambulances have been deployed to give medical treatment to the Gazan patients. According to the Egyptian Health Ministry, 12 thousand doctors have been assigned to treat the ill and wounded from Gaza. In addition, the Egyptian authorities have also allocated 30 teams for rapid medical intervention along the road to the Rafah Crossing.