ISRAEL reopened the Rafah border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt on a trial basis today, nearly two years after seizing it and following one of the bloodiest days in the Palestinian territory since the so-called ceasefire began in October.

Israel announced that the crossing had opened in a test and the Cogat military agency, which controls aid and access to Gaza, added that the crossing was being prepared for wider operation.

It said Gaza’s residents would begin to use the crossing on Monday. However, few people will be allowed through at first and no goods will be allowed to pass.

About 20,000 Palestinian children and adults needing medical care will probably need to leave the devastated enclave via the crossing, while thousands of other Palestinians outside the territory hope to return home.

Gaza’s Health Ministry has not yet been notified of the start of medical evacuations, according to Zaher al-Wahidi,  who heads the ministry’s documentation department.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said his country would allow 50 patients a day to leave.

An official involved in the discussions, speaking on condition of anonymity, told reporters that each patient would be allowed to travel with two relatives, while some 50 people who left Gaza during the war would be allowed to return each day.

Israel has said that it and Egypt will vet people for exit and entry through the crossing, which will also be supervised by European Union border patrol agents.

The number of travellers is expected to increase over time if Israel deems the system successful.

Meanwhile, hospitals in Gaza said that Israeli strikes had killed at least 31 Palestinians, including several children, on Saturday.

The strikes hit locations throughout the territory, including a block of flats in Gaza City and a tent camp in Khan Younis, officials at the hospitals that received the bodies said.

The dead included two women and six children from two different families. Another air strike hit a police station in Gaza City, killing at least 14 and wounding others, Shifa Hospital director Mohamed Abu Selmiya said.

Israeli forces have killed at least 509 Palestinians and wounded 1,405 others since the ceasefire began.

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In a separate development, Israel’s Diaspora Ministry said yesterday that it was “moving to terminate” Doctors Without Borders (MSF) operations in Gaza.

This follows Israel suspending the international medial charity’s operations in Gaza in December because it refused to comply with new Israeli registration requirements, which demanded that organisations submit lists of local employees. The group said the new regulations could put their Palestinian staff in danger.

“MSF will cease its operations and depart the Gaza Strip by February 28 2026,” the ministry said in a statement.