The Arab Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, Adalah, and the Israeli Center for Freedom of Movement, Gisha, said in a statement that they had sent an urgent letter to Defense Minister Yisrael Katz, Attorney General Gali Bahrav-Meara, and the Military Advocate General.
The two centers demanded in the letter "an immediate halt to the policy of harassment and illegal restrictions imposed on the residents of the Gaza Strip seeking to return to the Strip through the Rafah crossing on the Palestinian-Egyptian border."
Testimonies from returnees, including elderly people and children, reported that they were subjected to harsh Israeli military interrogation, while emphasizing their attachment to their land and their rejection of any attempt to displace them.
The government media office in Gaza announced on Wednesday that only 488 out of 1,800 travelers were able to cross the Rafah crossing in both directions since it was reopened until Tuesday, with an Israeli compliance rate of approximately 27%.
The office stated that 275 travelers were able to leave the sector, while 213 others arrived in the sector, and 26 others were refused permission to leave for Egypt during that period.
On February 2, Israel reopened the Palestinian side of the crossing, which it has occupied since May 2024, in a very limited manner and with very strict restrictions.
The statement from the two centers added that the closure prevented the wounded and sick from leaving for treatment and the return of thousands of residents who had left the sector or were stranded outside it. It stated that prior Israeli security approval is imposed on all those crossing, with strict restrictions on entry and exit, and allowing the return of limited numbers of those who left during the war.
He pointed to field reports indicating that only a small number of people, mostly women and children, had returned, contrary to what was said to be an agreement allowing the entry of about 50 people per day, without explaining the reasons. The testimonies also included that returnees were being blindfolded, handcuffed, and having their personal belongings confiscated.
The statement added that some Palestinians were transferred within the Gaza Strip by armed groups in coordination with the Israeli army, and were subjected to security investigations that included pressure and threats of arrest.
He stressed that these measures constitute “a violation of international law, which guarantees the right of return without arbitrary restrictions,” and considered that preventing return and imposing security conditions may amount to “forced displacement prohibited under the Geneva Conventions.” He called for a halt to the measures that impede the return of the population, the lifting of security conditions, and adherence to international law.
According to Egyptian and Israeli media, it was expected that 50 Palestinians would cross into Gaza daily, and a similar number into Egypt, including patients and companions, but this has not happened to this day.
Palestinian estimates in Gaza indicate that 22,000 wounded and sick people need to leave the sector to receive treatment, as a result of the catastrophic situation of the health sector due to the consequences of the Israeli war of extermination.
Semi-official data indicates that around 80,000 Palestinians have registered to return to Gaza, a clear indication of the Palestinians' determination to reject displacement and cling to the right of return despite the Israeli destruction.
Before the Israeli war of extermination, hundreds of Palestinians used to leave Gaza daily through the crossing to Egypt, and hundreds of others would return to the Strip in a normal movement. The mechanism of work at the crossing was subject to the Ministry of Interior in Gaza and the Egyptian side, without Israeli interference.
Israel was supposed to reopen the crossing in the first phase of the ceasefire agreement, which came into effect on October 10, 2025, but it reneged on that.
