Most of the Palestinians who sought entry to Gaza on Monday were sent back to the Egyptian side, officials and aid workers said.
Border officials told The National that 38 of the 50 Palestinians who passed from Egypt to Israeli checkpoints in Gaza on Monday were sent back to the Egyptian side around dawn on Tuesday, with instructions to wait for permission to re-enter the enclave.
At the same time, minibuses carrying another group of 50 hopeful Gazans reached the crossing, a border official confirmed. He said that because the reopening deal allowed only 50 people a day to cross into Gaza, some members of the second group would most likely have to wait overnight as well.
According to Egyptian and Palestinian officials at the crossing, only women and children in the first batch were allowed to enter Gaza, while men were turned back to wait on the Egyptian side of the border.
Separately, a source at the Red Crescent Hospital in Khan Younis told The National that ambulances carrying 16 wounded Palestinians and 29 companions left early on Tuesday for the Rafah crossing, suggesting a possible increase in two-way movement.
On Monday evening, only five patients and seven companions were able to leave Gaza for medical treatment in Egypt, far fewer than the 50 daily that had been agreed upon.
Aid personnel said the process remains controlled and slow, with those cleared for travel vetted and allowed minimal personal belongings.
An Egyptian border official described the situation as “fluid,” adding that co-ordination between Israeli, Egyptian, and Palestinian authorities continues to change.
The crossing has been closed since the Israeli military seized the Palestinian side of Rafah in May 2024. Israel agreed to reopen it, in co-ordination with Egypt and support from the European Union, under the terms of a US-brokered ceasefire that ended two years of war in Gaza in October.
Speaking from the crossing on Monday, Khaled Megawer, the governor of North Sinai province, confirmed that after strenuous negotiations, it was agreed that 50 Palestinians would be allowed to cross into Gaza each day, while 150, comprising 50 patients and up to two companions with each, would be allowed to depart.
Meanwhile, Ali Shaath, chief commissioner of the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, said in a statement on Monday that registration mechanisms and priority lists would soon be announced “to ensure transparency and equal access” for Palestinians wishing to cross.
He described the reopening as “the beginning of a long process that restores connection and opens a true window of hope” for Gaza’s residents after two years of war.
Mr Shaath, a Palestinian technocrat and civil engineer who was appointed to head the committee last month, said the step was a “collaborative achievement” supported by international partners and an essential part of a 20-point Gaza plan announced by US President Donald Trump, which aims to consolidate the ceasefire, bring humanitarian relief, and prepare for reconstruction and demilitarisation in the enclave.
Mr Megawer visited parts of North Sinai province on Monday, including the border facilities and New Rafah City, a residential and infrastructure development project about seven kilometres from the frontier.
He said more than 1,300 residents had now moved into homes built for families displaced by security operations in Sinai.
The committee’s emblem on Mr Shaath’s statement sparked an angry reaction from Israel because it resembles the Palestinian Authority's logo.
“Israel will not accept the use of the Palestinian Authority’s symbol, and the PA will not be a partner in the administration of Gaza,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said.
He said the committee’s logo shown to Israel earlier was entirely different.
Mr Megawer stressed that the development of North Sinai served both security and economic goals, in line with the national strategy to stabilise the province after years of fighting ISIS insurgents, while reaffirming Egypt’s categorical rejection of any Palestinian resettlement on its territory.
“The matter of displacement has been settled and Egypt took a firm stance,” he told reporters at the crossing.
He added that progress on North Sinai’s development, including the opening of a market and a transport centre on Monday, was part of the government’s message that local growth remains its top priority, even amid heightened regional sensitivities.
“One might wonder why I, as the governor, on the day that there are 50 wounded arriving and 50 others leaving the border crossing, was off somewhere else inaugurating a market. We planned it this way,” said Mr Megawer, “We want to send a message that developing this province is our No 1 goal.”
Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly delivered the same message in an October 2023 address from North Sinai, delivered two weeks after the outbreak of the Gaza war, when he pledged that Egypt would “press ahead with the full development of Sinai”.
At the time, he framed the effort as both an economic revival plan and a national security imperative, saying it was essential to thwart any “other nations’ schemes” targeting Sinai’s identity and Egyptian sovereignty.
As operations at Rafah continue under tight restrictions, officials say procedures remain under constant review.
Both Egypt and Israel maintain security checks and daily limits on the number of travellers, while humanitarian agencies continue to call for expanded access for patients, students, and families separated by the war.
Mr Megawer noted that while reopening the crossing was a significant step, the more challenging phase of the ceasefire agreement was still ahead, involving the entry of peacekeeping forces, the start of Gaza’s reconstruction, and measures to strip armed groups of their weapons.
“We are now entering the delicate stage and may God aid us in these efforts,” he said.
