A total of 126 people departed the Gaza Strip on Tuesday as part of a medical evacuation for patients and the wounded to receive treatment abroad. This marks the largest group to exit since the Rafah land crossing reopened in February, following a closure that lasted more than a year and a half.
A leader in a Palestinian faction familiar with the indirect negotiations between Hamas and Israel stated that the Israeli occupation agreed, during recent rounds of talks in Cairo, to increase the number of travelers and raise the volume of trucks entering Gaza through commercial crossings.
The source told Al Manassa that the understandings include allowing other categories of Palestinians, beyond the sick and wounded, to travel through the Rafah crossing by the end of April. These groups include students and residency holders, who have faced travel bans for more than two years.
More than 120 people leave Gaza in the largest exit for 18 months, April 14, 2026Raed Al-Nims, spokesperson for the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS), told Al Manassa that the PRCS participated today in evacuating 41 patients and wounded individuals from its Khan Younis headquarters in southern Gaza as part of today's Rafah crossing departure, accompanied by 85 relatives.
The evacuation process took place under the supervision of the Red Crescent and in coordination with the World Health Organization. The travelers headed to the Rafah crossing in preparation for their transfer to Egyptian hospitals to complete their treatment.
The Rafah crossing has been operating a maximum of five days per week since the Israeli occupation announced its approval to reopen it in both directions. This followed Egyptian, Qatari, and American pressure to implement the terms of the ceasefire agreement signed with Hamas last October.
In recent weeks, the occupation had permitted the passage of fewer than 50 people daily on the crossing’s operational days, with similar or smaller numbers returning, according to the PRCS spokesperson.
On Monday the Israeli occupation army also permitted the entry of 323 trucks through the Karm Abu Salem crossing, southeast of Rafah, and the Zikim crossing, northwest of the strip. The shipments included 220 commercial trucks and 103 trucks loaded with relief aid.
The occupation army had closed the Zikim crossing more than six months ago, restricting the entry of goods and aid to the Karm Abu Salem crossing during that period.
