Gaza's key Rafah border crossing with Egypt reopens

Palestinians have started to enter the Rafah border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt after it reopened for the movement of people.

The crossing has largely been closed since May 2024, when the Palestinian side was captured by Israeli forces.

The long-delayed reopening is a key part of the first stage of US President Donald Trump's ceasefire plan between Israel and Hamas, which began in October.

Only dozens of people will be able to cross in both directions each day. Humanitarian aid and commercial goods will still not be allowed through.

Around 20,000 sick and wounded Palestinians are waiting to leave Gaza for treatment.

Israeli reports say only 50 patients - accompanied by two relatives - will be allowed to exit each day, and that 50 of the tens of thousands of people who left Gaza during the war will be allowed to return.

The World Health Organization (WHO) will oversee the transfer of patients from territory under Hamas control, transporting them by bus through territory controlled by the Israeli military to the crossing, BBC News understands.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz warned that anyone who crossed the Yellow Line, which marks Israeli-controlled territory under the ceasefire deal, would be "met with fire."

The Rafah crossing will be run by supervisors from the European Union and local Palestinian staff, while Israel will carry out remote security checks.

On Sunday, Israeli authorities said a trial opening of the crossing was carried out and completed.

One Palestinian official familiar with the arrangements for the trial run told the BBC around 30 Palestinian staff members had arrived at the Egyptian side of the crossing, ahead of the operational phase.

Trump's 20-point Gaza peace plan says the reopening of the Rafah crossing in both directions will be subject to the same mechanism implemented under a previous ceasefire deal in January last year.

Before being seized by Israel in 2024, the crossing was the main exit point for Palestinians allowed to leave during the conflict and a key entry point for humanitarian aid.

In December, the Israeli government said the Rafah crossing would open to allow Palestinians to leave Gaza. But Egypt said the crossing would only be opened if movement was allowed in both directions, enabling the return of tens of thousands of Palestinians who fled Gaza.

The crossing's opening was also delayed due to the Israeli government making it conditional on Hamas finding the body of the last dead Israeli hostage in Gaza.

Last week, the Israeli military said it had retrieved the remains of police officer Master Sgt Ran Gvili at a cemetery in northern Gaza.

He was one of the 251 people abducted by Hamas and its allies during their attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, which killed around 1,200 people.

Israel's military campaign in Gaza, launched in response to the attack, has killed more than 71,790 Palestinians, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry.