CAMERA’s Israel office prompted corrections in two Wall Street Journal articles which erroneously stated that the Rafah crossing has been “closed completely” since March 2024.
In fact, the Rafah crossing was opened for medical evacuations from the Gaza Strip in the early 2025 cease-fire after the remaining living female hostages held by Hamas were released. It closed in May 2024.
Medical evacuation for injured Palestinians through Rafah crossing, Gaza Strip, March 7, 2025. (credit: Ashraf Amra, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO, via Wikimedia Commons)
The Feb. 2 article by Feliz Solomon and Summer Said, “Gaza’s Border With Egypt Reopens, but Few Palestinians Make It Across” was corrected to state that the Rafah border has been “largely closed” since Israel took control of it in May 2024.
The Feb. 1 Anat Peled and Summer Said article, “Gaza Crossing Into Egypt Will Open to Palestinians Monday, Israel Says,” was corrected to state that Israel captured the Rafah crossing in May 2024.
Between Jan. 19 and Mar. 17, 2025, the World Health Organization evacuated 2,718 patients from Gaza. Of those sent abroad for treatment, 61 percent (1,673) passed through the Rafah Crossing, with the remainder via Kerem Shalom Crossing.
Gisha – Legal Center for Freedom of Movement, a non-governmental organization known for being highly critical of Israeli policies in the Gaza Strip, confirmed on Feb. 4, 2025, that the Rafah Crossing reopened on Feb. 1, 2025 after being closed since early May 2024. The NGO said that on the day of its opening, 37 patients left Gaza with their companions via the crossing. The next day, Gisha said, citing reports, 46 patients and their companions left the Strip for treatment via the crossing.
In addition to the intext corrections, the details of the corrections were appended at the bottom of each article. The appended text for the Feb. 2 article added that the border was largely closed “apart from a couple of months during an early 2025 cease-fire.”
The appended text for the Feb. 1 article states: “Israel seized the Rafah crossing in May 2024. An earlier version of this story incorrectly said that Israel seized the Rafah crossing in March 2024. (Corrected on Feb. 4)” [Emphasis added]
The correction appendices also appeared in the Feb. 5, 2026, print edition.