CAIRO, January 31. /TASS/. The first group of sick and wounded Gaza residents will be taken to Egypt on February 1 through the Rafah border crossing, which effectively stopped working in May 2024, the enclave's Health Ministry said.
"The first group of sick and wounded persons will be taken out of Gaza through the Rafah border crossing on Saturday, February 1," the ministry said in a statement on its Telegram channel, though giving no information on how many Palestinians will be taken to Egypt for treatment.
The Rafah border crossing was the main gateway for humanitarian aid to reach Gaza, as well as for the transfer of sick and injured Palestinians to Egypt. However, in May 2024, it shut down. On May 7, the Israeli military took control of the Palestinian side of the crossing, and Cairo responded on May 11 by stating that it had no intention of coordinating with the Jewish state on further actions regarding the checkpoint. A few days later, Egyptian authorities held Israel fully responsible for the closure of Rafah and the disruption of humanitarian aid delivery to the residents of the Palestinian enclave.
Since January 19, when the ceasefire agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement came into effect, the Egyptian authorities have been preparing for the reopening of the checkpoints. At present, humanitarian aid regularly enters Gaza through the Kerem Shalom and El Oga checkpoints, located on the border with the Jewish State, after undergoing inspections by the Israeli military.