KEY POINTS
- Israeli strikes killed at least 21 Palestinians in Gaza, including four children.
- Israeli military said the strikes followed an attack that wounded an Israeli reservist.
- Patient evacuations through the Rafah border crossing were halted.
- Only five patients were evacuated through Rafah on the first day of its limited reopening.
- Gaza’s health ministry said more than 550 Palestinians have been killed since ceasefire.
- Aid agencies warned that restrictions at Rafah are deepening Gaza’s humanitarian crisis.
GAZA CITY, Palestine: Israeli tank shelling and air strikes across the Gaza Strip killed at least 21 Palestinians on Wednesday, including four children, as evacuations of sick and wounded patients through the Rafah border crossing were abruptly halted, aid agencies said.
Hospital sources, cited by Al Jazeera, said that the death toll since dawn had risen to at least 21, amid continued Israeli bombardment of Gaza City and the southern city of Khan Younis.
The Israeli military said its forces fired tanks and launched air strikes after a gunman shot at Israeli soldiers, seriously wounding a reservist. It said the attacks targeted sites linked to militants.
The violence coincided with renewed uncertainty over the operation of the Rafah border crossing, Gaza’s only gateway to the outside world.
A Gaza health official told Reuters that Israel had halted the passage of patients through Rafah into Egypt.
Rafah crossing closed for patients
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said patients had already arrived at a hospital in Khan Younis in preparation for evacuation when they were informed the process had been postponed.
“They called the patients and said today there is no travel at all, the crossing is closed,” Raja’a Abu Teir, a Palestinian patient awaiting evacuation, told Reuters from the hospital, where several ambulances were lined up.
The Israeli military agency COGAT, which oversees access to Gaza, denied closing the crossing.
It said Rafah was open but that it had not received the necessary coordination details from the World Health Organisation (WHO).
“The World Health Organization, which is responsible for coordinating the arrival of residents from the Gaza Strip to the Rafah Crossing, has not submitted the required coordination details,” COGAT said in a statement.
Later in the day, the PRCS said evacuations would resume shortly and that preparations were under way for a group of patients to travel.
Limited reopening of Rafah crossing
Rafah crossing was partially reopened this week under a US-backed ceasefire arrangement after months of near-total closure.
Egyptian media reported that a second group of Palestinians had returned to Gaza through the crossing, while Israeli media said around 150 patients and their companions were scheduled to leave Gaza for treatment in Egypt.
However, international agencies say the numbers allowed through remain far below needs.
The WHO said only five patients were evacuated on Monday, the first day of limited reopening.
“More than 18,000 patients are awaiting urgent evacuation,” WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier said, adding that the numbers leaving Gaza were “tiny compared to the need”.
Germany welcomed the reopening and called for additional crossings to be opened to accelerate humanitarian aid deliveries.
Qatar also welcomed the move but said it was insufficient, urging the full implementation of the ceasefire and unrestricted aid access.
Rising death toll
Gaza’s health ministry said more than 550 Palestinians have been killed since the start of the ceasefire in October 2025.
It added that over half of essential medicines are currently unavailable due to Israeli restrictions.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said more than 500 Palestinians had been killed since the ceasefire agreement and called for its full implementation.
“I urge all to comply with international law and allow unimpeded passage of humanitarian relief at scale,” he said in a post on X.
Since the October ceasefire agreement, more than 500 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza.
I urge all to implement the agreement in full, comply with international law & allow unimpeded passage of humanitarian relief at scale.
— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) February 3, 2026
On the ground, Israeli strikes continued to hit densely populated areas. Two Palestinians were killed and 12 wounded in an air strike on the al-Mawasi tent camp, which Israel has previously designated a safe zone, the Palestinian Red Crescent said. One of those killed was a PRCS paramedic.
Israeli forces also carried out demolition operations east of Gaza City’s Tuffah neighbourhood, Al Jazeera reported. Eleven of Wednesday’s fatalities were reported in the Tuffah and Zeitoun areas.
Aid agencies warn of humanitarian crisis
Aid agencies warned that continued restrictions at Rafah were worsening Gaza’s humanitarian crisis.
“Ambiguity around the reopening of Rafah is adding to the trauma of people who have lived through incredible hardship,” International Committee of the Red Cross spokesman Pat Griffiths told Al Jazeera.
He said Israel, as the occupying power, had obligations under international law to ensure civilians’ needs were met.
The WHO said around 20,000 people in Gaza require urgent medical evacuation.
“What we really should be focused on now is rebuilding the health system inside Gaza, so people do not have to rely on evacuations to survive,” WHO spokesman Tarik Jasarevic said from Geneva.
Despite the ceasefire, violence has continued. Gaza’s health ministry said at least 529 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since the peace process began, bringing the total death toll since October 2023 to more than 71,800.
