‘We own Gaza now’: Inside an Israeli interrogation room at the Rafah border crossing
A group of Palestinians arrived at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis after arriving Gaza through the Rafah border crossing, 22 February 2026
Tareq S. Hajjaj reports in Mondoweiss on 25 February 2026:
Palestinians returning to Gaza through the Rafah border crossing report systematic harassment, beatings, torture, and being told to leave Gaza with their families by Israeli border agents. Returnees who spoke to Mondoweiss described how Israeli authorities subjected them to hours of intensive interrogation, during which they attempted to recruit some travelers as informants.
As the Rafah crossing partially resumed operations in late January after having been closed by Israel in May 2024, increasing numbers of Palestinians who had left for Egypt during the war have begun returning to the Strip. Palestinians have described the harrowing treatment they experienced at the crossing. Additional interviews with returnees upon arrival reveal that travelers received two distinct messages from the authorities with whom they interacted during the journey.
The first appeared to come from the Egyptian side, who urged travelers to remain in Gaza and reject all offers of emigration. The second seemed to have been planted by the Israelis, particularly through interrogation rooms. The message was nearly identical for every person crossing through Rafah:
Gaza now belongs to Israel, and Palestinians will inevitably be forced out of the Strip — “even if it takes twenty years,” according to statements attributed to Israeli interrogators.
Every Palestinian making the journey must undergo mandatory questioning, in which Israeli officers alternate between aggressive intimidation tactics and feigned concern and helpfulness. Almost all travelers were detained for more than two hours, and sometimes up to the whole day. In all cases, their hands were bound, and their eyes were blindfolded during the entire interrogation. Israeli officers proposed what they phrased as “generous offers” to the travelers to assist them and their families in leaving Gaza permanently. Others were offered to work for the Israeli army by providing it with information from within Gaza upon their return.
Maha Abu Qamar, who returned to Gaza with her two children, ages 11 and 13, described the Egyptian side as routine: bags were searched, passports stamped, and travelers were allowed to pass through toward Gaza without incident. When they entered Gaza to hand in their passports, they were received by armed members of the infamous Israel-backed militia formerly led by the late Yasser Abu Shabab, who was reportedly killed by one of his men in December of last year. “Abu Shabab’s group received us and searched us. They did not abuse us or cross any lines,” Abu Qamar told Mondoweiss. “They took our passports to hand them to the Israelis, along with our mobile phones, while our belongings remained outside. Then they led us into a makeshift room. It was wrapped in plastic sheeting from the side and was open at the top.”
The crossing on the Palestinian side is no longer a place fit for human use, travelers say. They walk through sandy dirt paths with fences on either side, describing the Israeli-controlled area as a flattened “desert.” As of April of last year, Israel systematically razed the southern Rafah governorate.
Abu Qamar says that after waiting briefly, an Israeli female soldier arrived and grabbed her by the hand, ordering her to face the wall. She then bound her hands and placed a blindfold over her eyes. She was led through what she described as several winding corridors until they reached the interrogation room. She sat in the room for ten minutes before being taken out of it, only to be called back in and led through the same process. The entire time, she was handcuffed and blindfolded.