Khan Younis, Palestinian territories. Palestinian women returning to Gaza after Israel’s delayed reopening of the Rafah crossing under last year’s ceasefire said they were blindfolded, handcuffed and interrogated by Israeli forces as they tried to get home. Israel’s military denied acting inappropriately or mistreating Palestinians crossing into Gaza.
Accounts from returnees
The women, among the few people allowed back into Gaza, described a journey from Egypt on Monday through the frontier post and across the “yellow line” zone controlled by Israel and an allied Palestinian militia group, involving lengthy delays and the confiscation of gifts, including toys, according to one of the women.
“It was a journey of horror, humiliation and oppression,” said 56-year-old Huda Abu Abed, speaking by phone from the tent her family is living in at Khan Younis in southern Gaza.
Her account was supported by another woman interviewed by Reuters and by comments from a third woman interviewed on Arab television.
Israel’s response
In response to a Reuters request for comment, Israel’s military said its forces had not acted inappropriately or mistreated Palestinians crossing into Gaza, without addressing the specific allegations made by the two women interviewed.
Crossing numbers and delays
About 50 Palestinians had been expected to enter Gaza on Monday, but by nightfall only three women and nine children had been allowed through, Palestinian and Egyptian sources said, while another 38 were waiting to clear security.
Of the 50 people waiting to leave Gaza, mostly for medical treatment, only five patients with seven relatives escorting them managed to cross into Egypt on Monday.
Confiscation of gifts and travel restrictions
Abu Abed said returnees were restricted to a single suitcase each and first encountered problems at the crossing when European border monitors confiscated toys they were bringing home as gifts.
She said she spent a year in Egypt for heart treatment but returned before it was finished because she missed her family. She said an adult daughter had also travelled to Egypt for medical treatment, and that an adult son was killed in December 2024 and she was not able to say goodbye to him. She said two other children are in Gaza.
Once through the crossing and on the Gaza side of the border, she said 12 returnees boarded a bus for their journey through the Israeli-controlled zone and across the “yellow line” demarcating Israeli- and Hamas-held zones.
What questions do you have about the procedures and restrictions described by Palestinians crossing via Rafah?
