Gaza border briefly reopens

The strip’s only international border crossing opens for the 24th day in six months.

Rafa border crossing
A Palestinian woman voiced her frustration as she waited to cross
Frustration
 
There were chaotic scenes at the border as frustration quickly turned into anger as many did not make it across.
 
 

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“My wife if she doesn’t go to Egypt within seven days, she will lose her sight”

Palestinian man at Gaza border

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Up to 1.3 million Palestinians are prevented from travelling for basic needs such as health-care daily. Many voiced their frustration at the border.

One man waiting at the border on Wednesday told Al Jazeera’s Nour Odeh: “My wife if she doesn’t go to Egypt within seven days, she will lose her sight.”

Another urgent case was that of 10-year-old Adham, who lost both parents and most of his siblings in an Israeli shelling of a Gaza beach in June.

After months of treatment and 50 days of waiting, Adham will finally be able to cross the border and begin another round of painful muscle reconstruction.

‘Lives on hold’

The waiting extends to all sectors of Palestinian society.

Students stand behind the border’s closed gates, hoping to reach their universities before it is too late.

And while some humanitarian cases make it out of Gaza, others remain waiting while time runs out.

Six-year-old Abdallah has been waiting for a month to get out. He faces certain death if he doesn’t change his dialysis line, a procedure that no Gaza hospital can offer him.

Al Jazeera’s Odeh’s said: “So long as the only gate of Gazans to the world remains for the most part closed, the lives of Palestinians here will remain on hold. For some, their travels can wait. Others will literally have to defy the odds.”

Source: Al Jazeera