The new travel mechanism through the Rafah crossing has also become a real test of Hamas control in Gaza, highlighting the difficulty of excluding the group from the territory’s affairs.
And the new procedures at Rafah – which bypass Hamas – are showing signs of weakening under pressure from the militant group to reassert control.
On Monday, evacuees assembled in Gaza at a medical point 4km (2.5 miles) from Nasser Hospital, in Khan Younis. The hospital itself is under the authority of Gaza’s Hamas-controlled health ministry.
On Tuesday, Palestinian officials and local journalists said members of the health ministry had unexpectedly appeared at the medical point, along with representatives from Hamas’s media office and interior ministry, and that they had begun intervening directly in preparations for the second day of evacuations.
These developments have also exposed the limited role currently played by the new National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, which has played no part in the evacuation process despite being designated as Gaza’s new temporary administrators under US President Donald Trump’s plan.
The reopening of Rafah signals the start of a new and difficult phase of that plan, hinging on the disarmament of Hamas, the withdrawal of Israeli forces, and the authority and control of a new administration.
The disagreements, fractures and confusion around Rafah are a warning of the tougher challenges that lie ahead.
Additional reporting by Orsi Szoboszlay