A total of 44 Palestinians left the Gaza Strip on Sunday through the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, which is operating on a very limited basis amid strict Israeli restrictions, the Palestine Red Crescent Society said.
Israel reopened the Palestinian side of the crossing Monday after keeping it under occupation since May 2024, allowing only minimal movement under tight control.
Raed al-Nams, the Red Crescent's media director in Gaza, told Anadolu that the group included 17 patients and 27 companions, adding that the organization teams continue to evacuate patients from Gaza as part of ongoing humanitarian efforts to secure medical treatment outside the enclave.
Since the partial reopening, only very small numbers of Palestinians have been able to enter or leave Gaza, according to field data.
The Rafah crossing saw no movement Friday or Saturday due to the weekend closure before operations resumed in a limited manner.
Estimates in Gaza indicate that about 22,000 wounded and sick Palestinians hope to leave the territory for treatment abroad, amid what officials describe as a catastrophic collapse of the health sector following Israel's genocidal war.
Semi-official figures also show that about 80,000 Palestinians have registered to return to Gaza, underscoring the residents' rejection of displacement and insistence on returning despite widespread destruction.
Although Israeli and Egyptian media had previously reported that up to 50 Palestinians would be allowed to cross daily in each direction, the numbers have fallen far short. Since the reopening began, only limited groups have crossed in both directions.
Under Israeli conditions, only Palestinians who left Gaza after the outbreak of the war are permitted to return, following intensive security screening.
Returnees, including elderly people and children, have reported undergoing harsh Israeli military interrogations while stressing their attachment to their land and rejection of displacement.
Before the Israeli war, hundreds of Palestinians crossed Rafah daily in both directions under normal procedures overseen by Gaza's Interior Ministry and Egyptian authorities, without Israeli involvement.
Israel was supposed to reopen the crossing during the first phase of a ceasefire that took effect on Oct. 10, 2025, but failed to do so.
The ceasefire halted an Israeli offensive that began in Oct. 2023, killing over 72,000 Palestinians and wounding more than 171,000 others, while destroying about 90% of Gaza's infrastructure.
Despite the ceasefire, the Israeli army has continued to violate it, killing 576 Palestinians and wounding 1,543 others, according to Gaza's Health Ministry.
