UN resumes Gaza medical evacuations as Rafah crossing reopens

UN Deputy Spokesman Farhan Haq announced on Wednesday the resumption of medical evacuations from the Gaza Strip through the Rafah crossing, marking a limited but significant restoration of humanitarian movement after Israeli authorities briefly closed the border point earlier this week.

Haq told reporters the crossing between Gaza and Egypt had reopened for limited movement in both directions. "Today, the UN and its partners resumed our support for the medical evacuation of people seeking treatment outside of Gaza, and we've also offered to help those returning to Gaza. This follows a short closure of the crossing by the Israeli authorities earlier this week," the deputy spokesman said.

Cargo operations face bottlenecks

The spokesman also noted progress in humanitarian cargo operations following Tuesday's reopening of the Kerem Shalom — or Karem Abu Salem — crossing into the occupied territory. "You will recall that the Kerem Shalom/Karem Abu Salem crossing re-opened yesterday for the offloading of cargo to enter Gaza," he said, adding that aid teams were able to collect food and fuel from the crossing on Tuesday with additional collection operations continuing Wednesday.

Despite these developments, Haq cautioned that humanitarian access remains severely constrained by operational bottlenecks. "However, our colleagues warn that Kerem Shalom remains the only crossing point for cargo to enter Gaza, which results in congestion and limits to our operations," he added, according to Anadolu.