Hundreds of wounded Gaza residents and foreigners streamed into the crossing, the first people set to escape the shattered Palestinian territory in more than three weeks of devastating war with Israel.
03:05
Humanitarian crisis unfolding in Gaza as food supplies run out after total Israeli blockade
Humanitarian crisis unfolding in Gaza as food supplies run out after total Israeli blockade
Whole families carried their belongings, and several injured people in wheelchairs and ambulances entered the heavily fortified gates at the crossing, the only one Israel does not control.
Live television footage showed Egyptian nurses and first-aiders examining wounded Palestinians then carrying them on stretchers to Egyptian ambulances.
At least one child was visible in one of the ambulances, with officials saying around 90 of the most seriously wounded would be allowed to cross for treatment in Egyptian hospitals.
The patients were to be taken to several locations, including a field hospital in Sheikh Zuweid, some 15km (nine miles) from Rafah. Media reports said others would be taken to a hospital in El Arish, 30km to the west, with the most complex cases referred to Cairo.
On the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing, an AFP correspondent saw 40 ambulances enter the terminal.
Umm Yussef, a dual Palestinian-Egyptian national, speaking on the Gaza side of the crossing, said “we are overwhelmed … have mercy on us. We are Egyptians and can’t cross into our country”.
“Let us in,” he added. “We are exhausted. We can’t sleep or eat.”
Militant group Hamas, which controls the Palestinian territory, had said earlier on Wednesday that it expected some foreigners and dual nationals to be allowed into Egypt.
It published a list that included workers from the International Committee of the Red Cross and nationals from Australia, Austria, Jordan and Indonesia.
After the transfer of the wounded, Egypt was to allow hundreds of foreign passport holders to cross for the first time since the Israel-Gaza war began on October 7.
Some 400 foreigners and dual nationals were expected to make the crossing on Wednesday.
Foreign governments say there are passport holders from 44 countries, as well as 28 agencies, living in the Gaza Strip.
Egypt is a lifeline for crucial humanitarian aid for Gaza’s 2.3 million residents.
The border opening provided the first glimmer of hope in the flaring humanitarian crisis in Gaza which the UN and other aid agencies have described as “unprecedented”.
At least 8,796 Palestinians, including 3,648 children, have been killed in Israeli strikes since October 7, the health ministry in Hamas-controlled Gaza said on Wednesday.
Israel has pounded Gaza for over three weeks in retribution for the worst attack in the country’s history, when Hamas gunmen stormed across the border, killing 1,400 people, also mostly civilians, according to Israeli officials.
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More tanks poured over the border into northern Gaza, as Israel stepped up its ground incursion.
Images provided by the military showed troops picking through bombed-out houses searching for militants or some of the 240 hostages seized by Hamas.
Israel said 11 of its soldiers were killed on Tuesday in “fierce battles” with Hamas militants “deep inside the Gaza Strip”.
Hamas’s armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, has vowed to turn Gaza into a “graveyard” for invading forces.
A strike on Gaza’s largest refugee camp killed at least 47 people on Tuesday, including, Israel said, a Hamas commander involved in the October 7 attacks.
Hamas says it will free foreign hostages ‘in the next few days’
Hamas says it will free foreign hostages ‘in the next few days’
A large explosion ripped through the densely packed Jabalia camp before nightfall, tearing facades off nearby buildings and leaving a deep, debris-littered crater. AFP witnessed at least 47 bodies being recovered.
The humanitarian situation in Gaza remains desperate, with food, fuel, and medicine for the 2.4 million residents all running short, according to aid groups.
The Palestinian telecommunications agency said on Wednesday that phone and internet services had “been completely cut off in Gaza”, the second blackout in a week.
Palestinians said they had evacuated from northern Gaza, as demanded by Israel, but were still under threat.
Israel attacks Hamas gunmen in Gaza tunnels, among 300 targets in 24 hours
Israel attacks Hamas gunmen in Gaza tunnels, among 300 targets in 24 hours
“We’ve been told people are evacuating from Gaza City towards the central area of the Strip beyond the valley, so we headed there. After 20 days, we were bombarded. Three of our kids lost their lives and we all got injured,” said Amen Al Aqlouk.
“There is no hope in the Gaza Strip. It is not safe anymore here. When the border opens, everybody will leave and emigrate. We encounter death everyday, 24 hours a day.”
With fears mounting the violence could spiral into a regional war, US President Joe Biden called for “urgent mechanisms” to dial down tensions and said his top diplomat Antony Blinken would go on another Middle East tour from Friday.
Horrific scenes in Israel kibbutz attacked by Hamas militants
Horrific scenes in Israel kibbutz attacked by Hamas militants
Israelis are facing a daily barrage of aerial attacks from Hamas and other Iran-backed groups around the Middle East, while the families of hostages have an unbearable wait for news of relatives thought to be held in the labyrinth of tunnels deep below Gaza.
Ayelet Sella’s seven cousins were kidnapped from a kibbutz community raided by Hamas gunmen.
“We have no tears, our eyes are dry, we are empty three weeks on,” said Sella. “I only ask for one thing, that they come back.”
Additional reporting by Bloomberg, Reuters