Displaced Palestinians in Egypt Await Reopening of Gaza Border

This is 9-year-old Islam Al Farany. Two years ago, Islam’s life changed when his relative’s home was hit in an Israeli strike. With the help of a nonprofit, Islam and his mother, Tahrir, were evacuated to the United States via Egypt, so Islam could be fitted with a prosthetic. The strike left Islam with other physical and emotional scars. Tahrir and Islam came back to Egypt, planning to return to Gaza and reunite with the rest of the family. The father of the family died in another strike while Tahrir and Islam were away. But Islam and his mother are unable to return despite an agreed upon cease-fire. The only border crossing from Egypt remains closed for Palestinians trying to get in or out of Gaza. Tahrir’s six other children are in Gaza. They’ve been separated for nearly a year. To speak to their mother and brother, they go to a nearby barbershop, which has better internet. five of Islam’s six siblings were also injured in the same strike. Eight-year-old Ahmed broke both his hips. Six-year-old Aya lost her sight in one eye. Seventeen-year-old Mohammed is the oldest. There are tens of thousands of Palestinians currently in Egypt who were able to leave Gaza soon after the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel. The Rafah border crossing has been mostly closed since Israel seized it in May 2024. As part of the latest truce, Israel agreed to reopen it, but has more recently said it would allow Palestinians to return only after Hamas hands over all the remains of the captives held in Gaza. While many Palestinians say they still want to go back, some wonder what is left to return to. Haneen Farhat fled over a year ago and began selling Palestinian food from her small home kitchen to make ends meet. She’s now organizing Gazan cooking classes, which are proving popular with both locals and tourists, and have been providing a steadier income. But life in Egypt is difficult for Palestinians. Their temporary Egyptian visas have expired, and they now find themselves without official legal status. This means they can’t officially work, buy property or attend Egyptian schools. Egypt says allowing a mass influx of Palestinian refugees could lead to their permanent displacement. The restrictions on residency have meant that some are looking to migrate elsewhere. But for those separated from their loved ones, all that’s left to do is wait.