Three Palestinians were killed and another was critically wounded, Thursday, in two separate Israeli airstrikes east of Gaza City, as Egypt and the Palestinian Red Crescent confirmed the partial reopening of the Rafah crossing for the first time since the outbreak of the U.S.–Israeli war on Iran.
Medical sources said one Palestinian was killed and another critically injured when Israeli warplanes struck a gathering of civilians near Al‑Shawa Square in the Tuffah neighborhood.
Shortly afterward, two more Palestinians were killed when an Israeli drone fired on a group of residents on Kashko Street east of the Zeitoun neighborhood.
With the three new fatalities, the number of Palestinians killed since the “ceasefire” of October 11, 2025, has risen to 680, with 1,814 wounded and 756 bodies recovered from destroyed areas.
The cumulative toll since the beginning of the genocide on October 7, 2023, now stands at 72,256 killed and 171,913 wounded.
In addition, Egyptian state media and the Egyptian Red Crescent confirmed that the Rafah crossing reopened in both directions on Thursday, allowing Palestinian patients to enter Egypt for treatment and enabling Palestinians stranded in Egypt to return to Gaza.
A senior Egyptian Red Crescent official told Agence France‑Presse that the crossing was operating under strict coordination and that medical cases were being prioritized.
Footage broadcast by Cairo News showed Palestinians preparing to cross back into Gaza from the Egyptian side, including individuals who had been receiving medical treatment in Egyptian hospitals. Ambulances were also seen waiting to receive new patients arriving from Gaza.
Israel had announced earlier in the week that Rafah would reopen on Wednesday, but the crossing remained closed until Thursday. Israeli authorities said movement through Rafah would resume only with Israeli security approval and under the supervision of the European Union Border Assistance Mission (EUBAM), which redeployed to Rafah in early February.
According to the Israeli Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), Palestinians returning to Gaza will undergo additional inspection procedures inside an area controlled by the Israeli army.
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said its teams transported 25 patients and their companions from its medical rehabilitation hospital in Khan Younis to Rafah on Thursday to facilitate their evacuation for treatment abroad.
The PRCS added that its participation was part of ongoing humanitarian efforts to support patients amid the collapse of Gaza’s health system.
Egypt’s National Media Authority reported that a group of Palestinians returning to Gaza arrived at the main hall of the Rafah crossing on Thursday, where Egyptian Red Crescent teams received them, provided humanitarian assistance, and offered psychological support, particularly for children.
Egyptian authorities also confirmed preparations to receive additional wounded Palestinians from Gaza, with the Ministry of Health establishing a medical point at the crossing to triage incoming patients and transfer them to Egyptian hospitals.
Earlier this month, on March 3, the Israeli army announced a gradual reopening of the Kerem Abu Salem commercial crossing under strict security conditions, claiming that humanitarian aid would be allowed into Gaza according to needs identified by the United Nations and international organizations.
Palestinian authorities in Gaza estimate that 22,000 wounded and chronically ill patients urgently require evacuation for treatment outside the Strip, as the health system continues to collapse under the weight of mass casualties, infrastructure destruction, and shortages of medicine, equipment, and staff.
