Rafah has gone from being Gaza’s last “crowded refuge” to a devastated, heavily controlled border city at the heart of the war and the ceasefire politics around it.

Where and what is Rafah?

  • Rafah is a city at the southern edge of the Gaza Strip, on the border with Egypt.
  • It hosts the Rafah crossing, historically the main gateway for people and some aid in and out of Gaza when other crossings are closed.

What happened to Rafah during the war?

  • As Israel’s military campaign pushed south, over a million displaced Palestinians were ordered or pressured to move towards Rafah, turning it into an overcrowded camp city of tents and makeshift shelters.
  • In May 2024, Israeli forces launched a Rafah offensive, despite warnings from allies that there was no credible plan to protect civilians.
  • Airstrikes and shelling hit areas in and around Rafah, including a strike on a camp for displaced people that killed dozens and sparked global outrage and accusations of a massacre.
  • Months of bombardment, ground incursions, and demolitions left large parts of Rafah a rubble‑strewn “ghost town,” with many residents killed and many more forced to flee yet again.

The Rafah crossing: closures, partial reopening, and tight controls

  • The Rafah land crossing with Egypt was repeatedly closed from the Palestinian side by Israel during the war and occupation of the crossing area, cutting off a key lifeline for civilians.
  • Under a later US‑brokered ceasefire framework, the Rafah crossing was partially reopened in early February 2026, but only for strictly limited numbers of people each day and under heavy Israeli vetting and security screening.
  • Reports describe new Israeli checkpoints near Rafah, European monitoring teams, and extensive searches and identity checks, with returnees speaking of humiliating, degrading inspections and interrogations.
  • Humanitarian agencies note that only a small fraction of the thousands needing medical evacuation have been able to exit via Rafah, despite the partial reopening.

Humanitarian situation and ongoing incidents

  • Even after ceasefire phases formally began, there have been continued Israeli attacks in Gaza, including strikes that killed and injured civilians in southern areas such as Rafah.
  • UN situation updates describe hundreds killed or injured in Gaza in the weeks around the partial reopening, and emphasize that access to healthcare, evacuation, and basic aid through Rafah remains severely constrained.
  • Egypt has been receiving limited groups of wounded and sick Palestinians through Rafah for treatment, alongside small numbers of returnees to Gaza, supported by the Egyptian Red Crescent with food, water, and psychological support.

Why Rafah is such a big deal now

  • Rafah symbolizes both the physical destruction of a “last safe zone” and the political struggle over who controls Gaza’s borders.
  • For Palestinians, it is a place of repeated displacement, bombardment, and harsh border controls; for Israel and some allies, it is framed as a security choke point to prevent militants moving or re‑arming.
  • Internationally, Rafah has become a shorthand for debates about civilian protection, alleged war crimes, genocide claims, and whether ceasefire deals are actually changing life on the ground.

TL;DR: Rafah was turned into an overcrowded refuge for displaced Gazans, then heavily bombed and invaded, leaving large areas in ruins and causing mass civilian casualties and displacement. Its crucial border crossing with Egypt has been mostly shut, then partially and tightly reopened under a ceasefire, allowing only limited medical evacuations and returns while thousands remain trapped in dire humanitarian conditions.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.