Reopening Gaza's 'gateway to the world' | Global News Podcast

Hi, I'm Charlotte Gallagher and welcome. to the Global News podcast on YouTube. where we go behind the headlines to. focus on one story and why it matters. Today we're talking about the opening of. the Rafa border crossing between Gaza. and Egypt, often described as Gaza's. gateway to the world. Israel has largely. kept it closed for 2 years now. A small. number of people will be able to go in. and out. Rafa's opening was included in. the Gaza peace plan. What could come. next? We're joined now by the BBC's.

Middle East correspondent Yolan Nell in. Jerusalem. Hi Yoland. >> Hello there. So firstly, we hear so much. about the Rafa border crossing in the. news, but what is it and why is it so. important? So the crossing point is one. of five uh that Gaza has, and it's the. only one that doesn't go into Israel. It. goes to neighboring Egypt. And that's. why really for years now when I've been. in Gaza in the past, people have. described it as their gateway to the. world or their lifeline to the world.

And this was a key part of President. Trump's 20point plan. It's actually one. of the points that the Rafa border. crossing should reopen. That's why we've. really been waiting for that. It had. been hoped uh that aid would go directly. from Egypt um where there is so much of. it waiting into the Palestinian. territory through the Rafa crossing. We've been told that that's not. happening at this stage. But the. crossing point is also just so important. for people and there are literally tens. of thousands of people, sick and wounded.

Palestinians inside Gaza. You've got. students inside Gaza, other people who. are desperate and waiting to leave. And. you've also got, you know, many. thousands of Palestinians who want to go. back to the Gaza Strip to be reunited. with their families. >> I was going to ask you that because. obviously not everyone will be allowed. to cross through this border crossing. So it's a set number of people is it. that have appointments or they're going. to university and things like that. So. basically to cross through this crossing. point you have to be authorized by both.

the Israelis and the Egyptians. But you. know there are also these stringent. Israeli security checks for people who. are going through and it's such small. numbers that you're talking about. Um. what we're hearing is it's about 50. people who are from the the list of sick. and wounded who will be able to go out. It's the World Health Organization. that's coordinating the medical. evacuations and it's only going to be. with one or two carers in each case and. then 50 people allowed to go back from.

the Egyptian side into the Gaza Strip. And what we've been hearing is initially. at least it's going to be those people. who were let out for medical treatment. that are now being allowed to go back. home. The reopening of this was included. in phase one of President Trump's peace. plan for Gaza. Now this is reopening. What happens next? I mean really this. completes phase one uh in many ways. Um. because phase one of the ceasefire plan,

it was about uh the return of the. Israeli hostages in exchange for nearly. 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and. detainees being returned uh by Israel. And then you're supposed to have this. big increase in desperately needed aid. going into Gaza. Uh the Rafa crossing. was one component of all of this. Of. course, we saw delays um from the. Israeli side really because um of the. very slow return of the bodies of the. deceased hostages. That's why Israel.

said it wasn't going to allow the Rafa. crossing point um to open um as had. previously been expected. We only had. just a week ago um the retrieval of the. remains of that Israeli police officer. Ran Gavilli, the last of the hostages in. Gaza. And since then, you know, it's got. this mechanism going so that the Rafa. border crossing can now be reopened. >> And what's phase two of the peace plan? And is that on track, do you think, to. be achieved? >> So, I mean, if you think how difficult.

it's been to get this far with phase. one, phase two, which Washington has. declared has now already started, that. is all of the more complicated issues. That is things like disarming Hamas. Um. and Israel has made very clear that that. has to happen before it will allow. reconstruction of the Gaza Strip um to. start. You've also got this Palestinian. technocratic committee that's supposed. to take charge of the day-to-day running. of the Gaza Strip overseen by the.

International Board of Peace. Now, although we do have um the names now of. all the members of that technocratic. committee, different Palestinian experts. that Israel's even approved after the. Palestinian factions got together and. decided on these members. Well, that. committee is still stuck in Cairo at the. moment. It's not gone into Gaza and it's. not totally clear, you know, what are. the arrangements going to be for it to. operate on the ground. There's also this. big question of an international. stabilization force that is promised by.

President Trump's peace plan as well. And at the moment, we don't have any. countries that Israel would approve of. um really saying that they're going to. commit their forces. We don't know when. this force is going to be set up. And. that's obviously, you know, a very. important part of taking things forward. as well. And if you think about. President Trump and his foreign policy. at the moment, he does seem quite. stretched because there's Ukraine, there's Venezuela, there's Iran, and. then there's also this. Is there a sense. that the Americans are still focused on.

driving this peace plan through? I mean, I would say that it's also world. attention that has switched to those. other things. And you know, people in. Gaza when we speak to them are really. very worried um that the world attention. could be going away. We also know that. aid organizations are very worried that. you know donors and donations could be. uh going away as well. Just at the point. which is so crucial to advance things. We did have President Trump's um Middle. East adviser, his son-in-law Jared. Kushner as one of those who was.

outlining at Davos um the kind of you. know next stages of phase two his vision. for for reconstruction. I mean it is. very ambitious. But you do have here, you know, the Arab Gulf countries in. particular, close allies of Washington, um, that really want to take things. forward as well. And there is always the. danger, uh, that, you know, as soon as. this doesn't advance, um, that Hamas. could look to take advantage of that. Israel could look to take advantage of.

that, and you could see the ceasefire. falling apart. So I think you know there. are enough players here that realize. there is real momentum that needs to be. um kept up but as we've seen even with. the reopening of the raffle crossing. things do happen painfully slowly. >> Yand is the ceasefire still holding. because when a lot of people think of a. ceasefire they think okay that's it. there's no more violence but then we. hear in the news that there are. outbreaks of violence. >> Definitely. And you know, some people in.

Gaza have taken to call on this not a. ceasefire but a reduced fire because we. do still see um these regular incidents. where um Palestinians are killed having. crossed the so-called yellow line which. is the the line that marks the point to. which Israeli troops have withdrawn to. in the Gaza Strip. They still control. about half of Gaza. And usually the. Israeli military says that these were. individuals who are posing a threat to. its troops. Now on Saturday there was.

really a very serious day. Um the. ceasefire looked very shaky indeed with. more than 30 Palestinians who were. killed including several children. according to hospitals in the Gaza. Strip. And that was one of the highest. death tolls in one day since the October. ceasefire with Israel accusing Hamas of. having violated the terms of the. agreement. And this all adds to people's. sense of, you know, real insecurity in.

Gaza. >> Is there hope both in Gaza and Israel. that this is going to last, that this. will there will be an end to this at. some point? There is, you know, deep. trauma and deep mistrust on both sides. Every day, you know, commentators in the. Israeli media, in the Palestinian media, in regional media are really sort of. picking over the latest developments and. where things go from here. And, you. know, it is hard to find hope, but you. mentioned, you know, the US has moved on.

and this is what happens in world. affairs. Things move very quickly. And. you know, it's our job, I guess, as. journalists to try to keep reminding. people of what exactly is happening. here. Even though at the moment, you. know, one aspect of the the Rafa border. crossing, some journalists were asking, will we be allowed to go in finally to. Gaza there to join our Palestinian. colleagues? And it's been made clear at. this point that is not something that's. on the cards. Thanks, Yoland. That was. our Middle East correspondent, Yoland. Nell in Jerusalem. And if you liked this.

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