Gaza border reopening long awaited by stranded Palestinians

Cairo/Gaza: Cut off from family or urgently requiring hospital care, Palestinians stranded on each side of Gaza's Rafah crossing waited with growing desperation for Monday's reopening of the border as a delayed part of October's ceasefire deal.

How fully crossings to and from Egypt will resume, and under what conditions, remains unclear with Israel retaining complete control of Gaza's frontier, but for those ​waiting to travel even a partial reopening feels long overdue.

While Rafah was partially open early in the Gaza war between Israel and Palestinian Hamas terrorists, it has been shut entirely since summer ‌2024 and only very small numbers have been able to travel to or from Gaza via Israel since then.

The people hoping ⁠to return to Gaza know it lies in ruins, their homes ‌and neighbourhoods destroyed in Israel's two-year military campaign sparked by the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack. Those seeking to leave know that new restrictions could maroon them abroad.

Yet, a mother cut off from family and grieving the death of her newborn son, a trader yearning to reunite with his fiancee for a long-delayed wedding, and two people needing medical treatment abroad were all hopeful for the reopening.

Eager to go home

Faten Hamed Abu Watfa, 43, has not seen her three children since she left Gaza nearly 10 months ago. Sitting in Egypt, she scrolls through photographs on her mobile phone, pictures of her two sons, aged ​21 and 18, and her 15-year-old daughter, trying to bridge the distance that has kept her separated from them.

Abu Watfa left Gaza City’s al-Karama neighbourhood on April 5, 2024, hoping to stay away for no more than six to eight weeks while her mother-in-law received medical treatment. Instead, she became stranded in Egypt after the Rafah crossing closed.

"It's an indescribable feeling, that one will go back to be reunited with his children and family, to the country, to the place where he lived ‌and grew up."

Her return, ‌however, will not be to the home she left behind. Abu Watfa said her house was torched by Israeli forces, leaving only the concrete pillars standing.

“When it rains, they put something like tar on the roof to keep the water from dripping on them, because the ⁠situation would be really difficult," she said.

"I am ready to enter Gaza, be searched and get tired, not for a day, but for a whole week... to be dragged around during the journey back, until I reach Gaza and see my children and my father safe and sound."

Many families who arrived in Cairo early in the war never expected to remain for so long. Some depleted their savings, while others found themselves divided, with relatives trapped on opposite sides of ⁠the Rafah border.

“I love Gaza, and I don’t see any other place that feels like home,” said Mohammad Talal al-Burai, 28, a currency ⁠trader whose house in Jabalia in north Gaza was destroyed.

Despite fears of a relapse into fighting and concerns that poor internet and communications could ‌disrupt his work, Burai registered with the Palestinian embassy in Cairo as soon as the Rafah crossing reopened.

“Going back to live in a tent? I don’t care,” ‌he said. “I can’t wait to take my father into my arms and place a kiss on his forehead,” Burai told Reuters.

Burai postponed his wedding after the war erupted in October 2023. His mother remains in the United Arab Emirates, receiving medical treatment.

“I will go ahead with my marriage, but I may not hold a party since my mother might not be able to join us,” he said.

Desperate to leave

For others, the chance to cross is a matter of life and death.

Tamer Al-Burai, 50, who is a cousin of Mohammad Al-Burai's father, suffers from obstructive sleep apnea and relies on Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) machine, to help him breathe normally during sleep by keeping the airway open.

“My health has become much worse because there is no power and no fuel,” he said. His family left for Egypt two years ago, but he was unable to follow because the crossing remained shut.

“I have appealed to humanitarian groups, to the WHO, to the Palestinian Authority - to anyone - so that I can leave, save my life, and reunite with my family,” Al-Burai said.

Thousands of Gaza Palestinians have registered with the World Health Organization to travel for treatment. Gaza’s health ministry said at least 20,000 patients, including children and cancer patients, are awaiting evacuation.

Among them is Noor Daher, 31, a graphic designer from Gaza City with a chronic heart defect. “My heart beats even harder now,” he said. “I am hopeful my problem will finally end.”

For many, the reopening came too late.

Dalia ​Abu Kashef, 28, died last week while waiting for her name to ‌appear on the Rafah crossing list for a liver transplant.

"We found a volunteer - her brother - who was ready to donate part of his liver," said her husband Muatasem El-Rass.

"We were waiting for the crossing to open so we could travel and do the surgery, hoping for a happy ending. But she deteriorated badly and died."