Published On 2/7/2026
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Last update: 10:38 (Mecca time)
Palestinian citizens returning to the Gaza Strip via the Rafah land crossing are complaining that the Israeli occupation authorities confiscated their personal property, including mobile phones and gold jewelry.
Returnees reported in testimonies – to Al Jazeera – that the inspection procedures and strict restrictions imposed on the returnees resulted in the taking of valuable possessions from them, stressing that the confiscations included personal belongings.
One of the returning travelers narrated the details of what happened to him, saying: “They confiscated three bags from us, an iPhone, in addition to my daughter’s gold jewelry for her wedding (her network), which consists of five bracelets, a chain, a ring, and a ring.”
For her part, another returning woman explained the extent of the losses suffered by the female travelers, noting that the confiscations included their phones and personal jewelry. She said: “They took our mobile phones, and there was gold and many other things lost… More than 10 women had their gold confiscated.”
In a related context, a third woman confirmed that the measures were severe and did not exclude anyone, saying: “They did not leave any mobile phone, and they took a pendant (gold chain) and rings from my son’s wife… These possessions are personal property, as she traveled with them to Egypt and returned with them.”
A returning child expressed the state of confusion experienced by female travelers: “They told us that gold was forbidden… We should have been informed of this decision in advance, and if we had known that, we would have disposed of it there and not returned it so that it would not be confiscated.”
These complaints come in light of the continuing stifling human suffering and unjust restrictions imposed by the occupation on the travel and movement of the people of the Gaza Strip, amid popular and human rights demands for the necessity of immediate intervention to stop these violations and the theft of travelers’ personal property.
Under the first phase of the ceasefire agreement, which entered into force on October 10, 2025, the occupation authorities were supposed to reopen the Rafah crossing completely and without obstacles, but they disavowed their obligations and did not commit to implementing this clause.
According to data from the Palestinian Crossings Authority, travel through Rafah resumed on February 2, 2026, and from that date until June 11, the total number of departures reached 3,516 people. On the other hand, 2,701 citizens returned to the Gaza Strip during the same period.
