Palestinians gathered on both sides of Gaza’s border with Egypt, hoping to pass through the Rafah crossing after its reopening was marred by delays, interrogations, and confusion over who would be permitted to cross.

On Tuesday, Palestinians who had fled Gaza earlier during the Israel-Hamas war assembled on the Egyptian side of the crossing, many seeking to return after undergoing medical treatment, according to Egypt’s state-run Al-Qahera News television.

Meanwhile, on the Gaza side, Palestinians in urgent need of medical care unavailable inside the enclave gathered at a hospital before ambulances moved toward Rafah, awaiting confirmation that they would be allowed to cross into Egypt.

The office of the North Sinai governor confirmed on Tuesday that an unspecified number of patients and their companions had crossed from Gaza into Egypt.

Separately, a bus carrying around 40 Palestinians who entered Gaza through Rafah on Tuesday arrived at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis early Wednesday morning, where families welcomed them after spending the entire day waiting for their return.

Although the reopening of Rafah was hailed as a positive step under the fragile ceasefire agreed in October, progress remained slow. It took more than 10 hours on the first day for only about a dozen returnees and a small group of medical evacuees to cross in each direction.