Israel has announced that, starting Feb. 2, the Gaza Rafah crossing with Egypt will be reopened to the passage of people. This reopening is limited and was announced by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. 

Even though reopening is a step in the direction of peace, there is a strict limit for reopening and crossing. PBS spoke to a woman from Khan Younis—a city in south of the Gaza Strip—who stated, “[o]pening the crossing is a good step, but they set a limit on the number of people allowed to cross, and this is a problem.” 150 individuals are permitted to leave Gaza per day, with 50 allowed to enter. However, Israel did not comment on these limitations and has been focused on the exploration of the territory for the body of a final hostage held in Palestine. According to BBC News, the Israeli military stated they were “currently conducting a focused operation to exhaust all the intelligence that has been gathered in the effort to locate and return” the remains of the last captive. Once the captive’s remains are found, Israel will reopen the Rafah crossing.  

Even though Israel has made the right first step in peace operations, it has been much overdue and the limitations they are holding are drastic, considering the dozens of Palestinians who need medical attention and need to be evacuated. There is not a clear timeline for when there will be a full reopening; however, the territory is currently heavily militarized due to the limitations, making it increasingly difficult for a reopening to be feasible. 

Rafah has been closed since Israeli seizure of the territory in May of 2024. It has only opened shortly once, in early 2025 for medical patients. Isreal has rejected efforts to open the crossing, but as peace talks have progressed, Isreal has been more open to negotiations.  

Limited reopening is a step in the right direction; however, Israel must continue its efforts to create peace. Many Palestinian individuals believe the change Israel is attempting to create won’t truly occur– lasting peace will require further discussions on both sides. 

Bibliography

Magdy, Samy. “Gaza’s Rafah Border Crossing with Egypt to Reopen for Limited Travel Monday.” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, 1 Feb. 2026, www.pbs.org/newshour/world/gazas-rafah-border-crossing-with-egypt-to-reopen-for-limited-travel-monday.