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With only five Palestinians in need of medical evacuation from Gaza permitted to leave through the Rafah crossing after it reopened on Monday, health authorities in the exclave warned that the restrictions Israel is continuing to impose at the crossing could ultimately kill thousands of Palestinians who have been waiting for years for treatment as Israeli attacks have decimated Gaza’s health system.

Zaher al-Wahidi, a spokesperson for the Gaza Health Ministry, told Al Jazeera Tuesday that although the crossing has reopened — a step that has been hailed as progress under the “ceasefire” agreement reached in October — the intense screening process Palestinians are subjected to by Israeli authorities at the entry point is “too complex.”

About 20,000 patients in Gaza are awaiting medical evacuation, including about 440 people whose cases are critical and need immediate treatment.

Egyptian officials had said before the crossing reopened that 50 people were expected to cross from Gaza into Egypt per day, but al-Wahidi said that if the rate of crossing on Monday continues, “we would need years to evacuate all of these patients, by which time all of them could lose their lives while waiting for an opportunity to leave.”

Al Jazeera reported that people hoping to leave Gaza must register their names with Egyptian authorities,........

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