Gaza Health Ministry Urges Rafah Crossing Opening as Strikes Kill and Wound Palestinians
Gaza's Health Ministry has called for the Rafah crossing to be opened so that sick and wounded Palestinians can leave the territory for treatment. The call came on October 29, 2026, the same day that Israeli strikes killed and wounded people in several parts of Gaza, according to Al Jazeera.
The Rafah crossing links Gaza with Egypt. The ministry said 21,468 patients and wounded people need to travel outside Gaza for care, including 6,430 priority cases. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported in its October 15, 2026 situation report that the World Health Organization (WHO) had facilitated the medical evacuation of 3,423 people from Gaza. More than 2,600 of those patients, or 77 percent, left through Rafah.
In Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza, an Israeli drone fired two missiles in quick succession at a civilian car, killing at least two Palestinians. The wounded were taken to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, where one person was in critical condition.
In the al-Mawasi area of Rafah, a drone strike killed four Palestinians, who were buried at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis. The victims were civilian employees of Gaza's Ministry of Economy, who monitor aid trucks entering through the Kerem Shalom crossing. More than 30 people were wounded in that strike.
Elsewhere, an Israeli strike in Jabalia, in northern Gaza, wounded a Palestinian who was taken to al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. In eastern Gaza City, Israeli artillery struck a house and wounded 11 people, including women and children. Explosions were also reported in the Shujayea, Tuffah and Zeitoun neighbourhoods as a result of Israeli artillery shelling.
The Health Ministry said six Palestinians were killed and 38 wounded across Gaza over the previous 24 hours.
The strikes are taking place under a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas that came into effect on October 10, 2025, brokered by the United States. Gaza health officials said at least 1,400 Palestinians had been killed by Israeli fire since that truce, as reported on October 12, 2026. On October 26, a UN commission said in a report that Israel had continued to commit genocide in Gaza after the ceasefire took effect.
