Blindfolded, handcuffed, and interrogated; Returnees face hours of humiliation by Israeli forces, casting shadows over fragile ceasefire hopes.
Rafah Reopens: Women Recall Gaza Nightmare:
Rafah, Gaza Strip-After nearly two years of closure, the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt reopened on February 3, 2026, offering a glimmer of relief amid a battered ceasefire. But for the handful of Palestinian women allowed to return home, the passage became a nightmare of detention, threats, and degradation at the hands of Israeli troops. These accounts, emerging just days into the reopening, underscore persistent humanitarian barriers and raise alarms about whether the border can truly serve as a lifeline for Gaza’s war-weary population.
‘Journey of Horror’ at Rafah: Women Speak Out:
The Rafah crossing, Gaza’s primary gateway to the outside world, swung open on February 3, 2026, after Israeli forces seized it in May 2024 during the height of the Israel-Hamas war. On the first day, 42 Palestinians arrived at the Egyptian side by 6 a.m., but delays stretched into the evening. Only one bus carrying 12 returnees-three women and nine children-crossed, arriving in Khan Younis around 1 a.m. the next day.
The women described a multi-stage process: Initial checks by European monitors confiscated items like toys, food, and electronics, limiting each to one suitcase, one phone, and 2,000 shekels. Buses then traversed an Israeli-controlled “yellow line” zone, where an allied Palestinian militia, the Popular Forces (formerly Abu Shabab), escorted them to a screening facility.
There, Israeli troops allegedly blindfolded and handcuffed the women, separating them from children for interrogations lasting two to three hours. Questions ranged from knowledge of Hamas to the October 7, 2023, attacks, with threats of detention or exile if answers were unsatisfactory. No physical beatings were reported, but the women spoke of insults, humiliation, and recruitment attempts as informants.
Huda Abu Abed, 56, who returned after heart treatment in Egypt, told Reuters her questioning focused on Hamas ties. “It was a journey of horror, humiliation and oppression,” she said from her family’s tent in Khan Younis. Sabah al-Raqeb, 41, echoed this, saying an officer questioned her return to a “destroyed” Gaza. Rotana al-Regeb described the room as a “humiliation room,” with threats to detain her from her children.
By February 4, 16 more patients crossed into Egypt, but inbound traffic remained sluggish, with 40 entering Gaza amid further delays.
Gaza’s Rafah Crossing: Lifeline or Trap?
The Rafah crossing has long been a choke point for Gaza’s 2.3 million residents, controlled jointly by Egypt and Palestinian authorities until Israel’s 2024 seizure. The war, sparked by Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack that killed 1,200 Israelis and took 250 hostages, led to Israel’s offensive, killing over 45,000 Palestinians by late 2025, per Gaza health officials. Over 110,000 Palestinians fled through Rafah in the conflict’s early months, many for medical care.
A fragile ceasefire in October 2025, brokered under U.S. President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan, mandated Rafah’s reopening in phases. Yet, Israel’s retention of a security corridor and vetting requirements have slowed progress. The Popular Forces, led by Ghassan Dahine, now secure the zone, marking a shift from Hamas control.
Over 18,500 patients, including 4,000 children, await evacuation. Gaza’s health system is in ruins, with ongoing airstrikes killing 30 Palestinians in the 24 hours before reopening, despite the truce. The UN warns of “massive trepidation”-hope for access clashing with fears of instability. At current rates, returning all 30,000 registered exiles could take years.