The first Palestinians returned to Gaza from Egypt through the Rafah crossing this week, after being stuck outside Gaza for two years or more. They described grueling interrogations, intimidation, and threats by Israeli soldiers at the crossing.

Gaza’s Rafah border crossing was supposed to reopen in October as part of the ceasefire agreement. But the border remains closed, keeping Gaza shut off from the outside world and preventing families from reuniting with loves ones.

Rana Nabeel Baalousha is fighting a rare illness while also struggling to survive the genocide in Gaza. Her only hope of survival is a medical transfer out of Gaza, but Israel won’t allow it. Her story is one of many.

Israel began its invasion of Rafah, ordering the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of people. “I do not feel safe in any place in Gaza,” Saadi Salem tells Mondoweiss as he attempts to flee Rafah. “The killing is in every corner around the Gaza Strip.”

WHO chief “appalled” at the destruction of al-Shifa Hospital. Domestic pressure on Netanyahu increases to strike a hostage deal with Hamas. The UN Human Rights Council considers an arms embargo against Israel.

Egyptian border officials are charging Palestinians in Gaza thousands of dollars to escape death in Gaza. And even those who manage to raise the exorbitant price through GoFundMe campaigns have not been let through for months.

Many Palestinians have been stranded in Egypt since the start of the war and suffer from poverty as they struggle to contact their loved ones. “Whenever I watch TV, I die a hundred times a day,” says Amnah Alshimbari, whose family remains in Gaza.

Palestinians travelling out of Gaza are routinely subjected to inhumane and degrading treatment by Egyptian officials as they are escorted to Cairo International Airport and placed under guard until they board their planes.