Weeks into the first phase of a three-stage ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, Cairo photojournalist Hamada Elrasam observes the fragile deal slowly being implemented as life-saving aid trucks and ambulances converge on Egypt’s side of the Rafah border crossing with the besieged Gaza Strip. Captions written by Elle Kurancid.
As fragile ceasefire holds, aid trickles into Gaza via Egypt
Trucks carrying vital humanitarian aid line up on the main road to the Rafah crossing amid harsh weather conditions. On the other side of the border, officials say as many as 14,000 Palestinians, including 2,500 children, require urgent medical evacuation. Rafah, Egypt, Feb. 4, 2025.
An Egyptian child carries the Palestinian flag down a rocky road near the Rafah border, less than 2 kilometers away from the decimated Gaza Strip following 16 months of Israeli bombardments. Rafah, Egypt, Feb. 4, 2025.
A message on the Egypt-Gaza border wall reads in Arabic, "No to displacement." Israel seized control of Gaza’s side of the crossing in May, halting or disrupting the flow of supplies and evacuees. Rafah, Egypt, Feb. 4, 2025.
Empty ambulances wait along the Rafah border wall. The ceasefire deal stipulates the reopening of the crossing to 50 medical evacuees daily, since Gaza’s health sector is on "the brink of total collapse," the U.N. says. Rafah, Egypt, Feb. 4, 2025.
Ambulances return to Egypt through Rafah. On a single day recently, Egypt says, Israeli authorities allowed 301 aid trucks into Gaza via the crossing. Rafah, Egypt, Feb. 4, 2025.
Aid workers say Israeli authorities deny trucks due to “improper packaging” such as metal parts. Feb. 4, 2025.
Mohamed Riad, an Egyptian forklift driver, says there are strict pallet size requirements and failing to meet them means depriving the people of Gaza of desperately needed aid. Rafah, Egypt, Feb. 4, 2025.
Aid workers say delays and restrictions mean perishable items, like these bananas, rot near Rafah’s gates instead of reaching the more than 90% of Gazans who face acute food insecurity. Rafah, Egypt, Feb. 4, 2025.
Egyptian aid truck driver Ahmed Hussein has faced 28-hour waits at the border. “The process is easier now,” he says, “but Israeli inspections are still long, and some trucks get denied.” Rafah, Egypt, Feb. 4, 2025.
Bulldozers are turned away from Rafah’s gates due to delayed permits from the Israeli authorities, slowing humanitarian efforts, as at least two-thirds of structures and roads have been damaged or destroyed across Gaza. Rafah, Egypt, Feb. 4, 2025.