Crossing the Rafah border crossing, the only way out of Gaza's hell, has become a lucrative business for war profiteers. For several thousand dollars, independent brokers and established travel agencies offer Gazans the opportunity to purchase a transit permit to Egypt. As the Israeli army tightens its grip on the south of the enclave after more than a hundred days of war that has cost the lives of more than 25,000 Palestinians, there are more and more of them, even among those who could benefit from the evacuation mechanism that was launched in November 2023 introduced an aid package for foreign nationals and wounded Palestinians to raise exorbitant sums of money to leave Gaza.
According to an investigation by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) and the independent Egyptian online media Saheeh Masr, middlemen sell this precious sesame for between $4,500 and $10,000 (between 4,100 and 9,200 euros) to Palestinians and $1,200 to Egyptian nationals. Independent brokers, some with dubious credentials, have entered this extremely profitable business. One of the providers most recommended by Gazans is the Egyptian travel agency Hala Consulting & Tourism, founded by Ibrahim El-Argani, a Sinai businessman with ties to Egyptian intelligence.
OCCRP and Saheeh Masr investigators contacted fifteen Palestinians and Egyptians who used these intermediaries. Only two of them were able to leave the Gaza Strip and paid $4,500 each. Three others were scammed by brokers and lost their money. Still others try to raise the required amount by selling their gold or personal items, taking loans from relatives or applying for crowdfunding online. This is the case of Rasha Ibrahim, from whom an intermediary demanded more than $40,000 to get her out of the Gaza Strip with her husband and three children.
Corruption allegations
“We can't afford it,” said the 31-year-old Egyptian woman, who has sought refuge in a tent in the center of the enclave since her home near Gaza City was destroyed by Israeli bombings. She thought that her Egyptian passport would open the doors of Rafah to her, but also to her husband and children, who have Palestinian nationality. She has still not received a response to the repatriation request she submitted on the online portal opened by the Egyptian authorities in early December 2023.
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