In a jarring contradiction of policy, the Rafah crossing has creaked open for a handful of desperate medical evacuees just as the Israeli government moves to sever a critical artery of aid. Israel has officially banned Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) from Gaza, ordering the Nobel Prize-winning charity to cease operations by February 28, 2026.

The reopening of the Rafah crossing, permitting a trickle of 50 pedestrians a day, is a drop of water in an ocean of need. While the first medical evacuees limp across the border into Egypt, the looming expulsion of MSF threatens to collapse what little remains of Gaza’s healthcare infrastructure. This is a calculated administrative strangulation of humanitarian aid.

The Politics of the Ban

The Israeli Ministry of Diaspora Affairs has justified the ban by citing MSF’s refusal to hand over detailed personnel lists of its Palestinian staff—lists the charity fears could be used for targeting rather than vetting. "We cannot sacrifice the safety of our colleagues for the permission to save lives," an MSF spokesperson stated. The ultimatum is stark: hand over the data or get out.

This decision effectively criminalizes the neutrality that is the bedrock of MSF’s mission. By removing one of the few organizations capable of performing complex trauma surgery in the strip, the ban sentences countless untreated wounded to death long after the bombs have stopped falling.

• The Crossing: Reopened for pedestrians only; no goods, no fuel, no massive aid convoys. It is a "pilot" program, not a relief effort.
• The Human Cost: Over 22,000 patients are currently waiting for medical evacuation. At 50 a day, clearing the backlog would take over a year.

A Hollow Gesture?

Diplomats in Cairo and Brussels have hailed the Rafah reopening as a breakthrough, but on the ground, it feels like a cruel taunt. For the mother carrying a wounded child, the open gate means nothing if the doctors who could save him are being evicted.

As the first evacuees cross into the Sinai, they leave behind a medical wasteland. The world is watching the gate open, but they are missing the shutting of the hospital doors.