Gaza’s Rafah gate opens under tight Israeli restrictions

As of early February 2026, the Rafah border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt has partially reopened for the first time in nearly two years, allowing a very restricted number of people to pass through under stringent Israeli supervision. Initially only five to fifteen patients were allowed to leave for medical treatment, despite thousands being on waiting lists.

Pedestrians went through. Humanitarian aid, construction materials, and commercial goods were gridlocked. The crossing is multi-stage security managed by Israel. A new checkpoint, named “Regavim” has been established by the Israeli military in an area under its control to vet returnees.

Though heavily restricted, the opening is significant. Approximately 20,000 to 22,000 sick and injured Palestinians still wait to be evacuated for urgent medical care, which the current rate of passage is too slow to meet.

The reopening, part of a US-brokered ceasefire agreement that began in October 2025, remains fragile with reduced, military activity. Israel’s strategy regarding the Rafah crossing goes beyond official security objectives to include long-term control of Gaza’s borders and, possibly demographic engineering. Israel’s strategic goals behind controlling the Rafah gate aim to create a “net exodus” of Gazans, with more people to exit Gaza than enter. It is euphemistically described as incentivised emigration. Rather than a border, Israel has developed the “Regavim Inspection Nekez” on its side designed as a permanent checkpoint for surveillance and population movement control.Israel has sought to deploy private US security firms to manage the crossing, which analysts argue allows Israel to control the border while maintaining a degree of “deniability”. Israel preconditions reconstruction to full demilitarisation. By regulating the only non-Israeli entry point, the movement of goods, technicians, and materials, and any future rebuilding of Gaza is measured.

The occupation of the Rafah crossing is part of a broader, long-term goal to secure the 13-km “Philadelphi Corridor” (the Gaza-Egypt border), isolating Gaza from Egypt. Israel frames the control of the Rafah crossing as essential to ensure Hamas is wholly disarmed. These rigid, measured, and restrictive reopening is a reflects a cautious tightening of Gaza and long-term security surveillance. Clear evidence points to a strategic, or at least ideologically driven, effort to reduce the Palestinian population in the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli Security Cabinet, established a “Voluntary Emigration Administration” to facilitate the departure of Gazans to third countries. Rights groups and UN agencies have reported that the systematic destruction of infrastructure, residential buildings, and the healthcare system, combined with a strict, long-term blockade has rendered Gaza, largely uninhabitable. Voluntary departure is the sole viable option for many. Right-wing Israeli government members, are irreversibly linked along with the US administration to these plans.

Critics, including international, human rights, groups, have argued that such, policies constitute “forced transfer” or, “ethnic cleansing” under international law, rather than truly voluntary, emigration, as the, choices are made, under extreme duress. This condition is described as a deliberate effort to destroy the material conditions of life, transforming the area into an unliveable environment and forcing the population into a continuous, desperate search for safety.

81 per cent of all structures in the Gaza Strip were damaged or destroyed, with critical infrastructure – including sewage treatment, freshwater supply systems, and public waste management – virtually obliterated. The health sector is in a state of collapse with 94 per cent of hospitals inoperable by September 2025. The result- widespread malnutrition, with famine conditions taking hold in areas like Gaza City. 97 per cent of school buildings are damaged – the majority totally deficient, leaving formal education dismantled. These conditions constitute acts of genocide, and collective punishment.  The lack of basic living conditions makes survival impossible due to direct, high-intensity bombardment, thousands of preventable deaths due to the collapse of sanitation and healthcare. The destruction has created an environmental crisis, with 42 million tons of rubble and 100,000 cubic meters of raw sewage released daily into the environment and Mediterranean Sea.

The strategy is viewed as an effort to ensure a Jewish majority in the region and to potentially allow for the re-establishment of Israeli settlements in Gaza, as suggested by some far-right ministers. Approximately 90 per cent of Gaza’s population has been displaced at least once, with many forced into increasingly smaller “humanitarian zones”. The proposals have faced condemnation from various international bodies and Arab states, which warn that they resemble forced transfer, a violation of international law.

Israeli officials often couch these plans in terms of “voluntary” migration to third countries for better opportunities, analysts and human rights organisations argue that the systematic destruction of life-sustaining infrastructure creates a scenario where leaving is the only option for survival.

UN agencies, international human rights organizations, and humanitarian groups indicate the collapse of essential services, a crippled healthcare system, and a blockade on food, water, and fuel where civilian survival is severely compromised.

As of October 2025, destruction has generated 61 million tonnes of debris, making reconstruction a task that could take decades. As of late 2025 just about 12-14 of Gaza’s 36 hospitals are partially operational and operate with basic restrictions of electricity, sanitation, clean water, and medicine.

The strict, long-term blockade, often described by experts as a “total blockade” regarding the entry of food, fuel, and medical supplies, has caused a catastrophic hunger crisis. Famine conditions have been reported, with aid access severely restricted or blocked entirely at times. The destruction of water and sanitation systems, combined with failed sewage management, has led to a massive health crisis, with 130,000 cubic metres of raw sewage discharged into the sea daily. Infectious diseases, including polio, acute diarrhoea, and hepatitis A, have spread rapidly due to lack of clean water.

The systematic destruction of civilian life, coupled with the “total siege” tactic, has been described in UN and legal reports as a form of “forced displacement” or “forced transfer,” where the environment is made unliveable, forcing residents to flee. The UN has warned that the destruction has “erased seven decades of human development in the enclave,” reducing it to a state of complete dependency and insecurity.

Gaza’s reconstruction is contingent upon the full demilitarization of the strip and the disarmament of Hamas. Israel intends to maintain long-term security control to prevent Hamas from re-arming. This involves strict control over the movement of goods, materials, and technicians into the territory. “Reconstruction for Demilitarization” is Israel’s strategy to maintain overriding security responsibility over the Gaza Strip. This policy aims to prioritise long-term security over immediate rehabilitation.

Key aspects of the Philadelphi Corridor strategy:

The occupation of the Rafah crossing in May 2024 and the surrounding 14-km Philadelphi Corridor is a central, long-term strategic goal for Israel to sever Hamas’s smuggling routes from Egypt and reshape the security landscape of the Gaza Strip. Israel considers control of this corridor vital to stop Hamas from rebuilding its military capabilities through smuggling tunnels, which Israel claims have been a major “oxygen line” for the group.

Israeli forces seized the corridor on 30^th May 2024, establishing operational control over the entire border between Gaza and Egypt. Netanyahu has insisted on maintaining an Israeli security presence along the corridor, even as this has been a major point of contention in ceasefire negotiations. The operation has involved finding and destroying numerous tunnels and creating a secured buffer zone. The move effectively gives Israel control over all exit and entry points to the Gaza Strip, isolating it from direct overland access to Egypt.

While Israel has sought to control this area to block smuggling, this strategy has created friction with Egypt, as it involves a significant presence on their border and has complicated, as well as at times halted, efforts to reach a ceasefire deal.

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.