Hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians in Gaza are seeing a glimmer of hope for reunification with their families following the limited reopening of the Rafah crossing with Egypt.
Although only a small number of travelers are currently permitted to pass, the move has revived optimism among families separated by war and years of closure.
Among them is Sobhi Zanon, a young man from Gaza anxiously awaiting the return of his fiancee from Egypt. The conflict and prolonged shutdown of the crossing have kept them apart for more than two years.
"I have been waiting for her for two and a half years. The years were full of hardship, psychological pressure, and pain. People kept telling me she would never return, that she would remain abroad like in 1948. But I never lost hope. And now everyone is celebrating with us," he said.
Like thousands of Palestinian families, the Al-Bardini family is also waiting. Their daughter Sawsan and her children traveled to Egypt at the beginning of the war for medical treatment and have yet to return.
"I have been waiting for my sister for more than two years. We were so happy when the crossing reopened. We ask President El-Sisi to help keep it open so all our loved ones can return to Gaza. We miss our sons, daughters, mothers, everyone who is stranded," said Attaf Al-Bardini, Sawsan's sister.
For Lamia Arbee, the reopening of Rafah brought deeper pain. She left Khan Younis at the start of the war to accompany her husband to Egypt for cancer treatment, while her children were forced to remain in Gaza. Shortly afterward, her husband passed away, leaving her alone in Egypt, grieving and fearing for her children as they endured the war without her.
"When I left Gaza, the houses were still standing. When I returned, I found none of them standing. They were all destroyed. Even my home was severely damaged, and all my furniture was gone," she said.
Lamia was finally able to return to Gaza, but her neighborhood had turned to rubble. Today, she lives with her children in a tent in southern Gaza, sharing the daily hardship of displacement, yet still holding on to hope of rebuilding her life.
"I will rebuild my home, God willing. I will repair all the damage because I want us to live in it again. I want to raise my children in our house and continue their education. I pray for strength to do that," said Arbee.
For many Palestinians, the reopening of Rafah does not end their suffering, it marks the beginning of a new struggle to rebuild their lives from the ruins.
Rafah crossing reopening offers glimmer of hope for stranded Palestinians, their families
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Friday urged China and France to make joint efforts to safeguard the status and role of the United Nations and prevent the world from reverting to the "law of the jungle."
Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the appeal during talks with French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.
Wang said that the successful first China-France-Germany trilateral foreign ministers' meeting, held on Friday, sent a positive and constructive message to the world.
Amid the changing and turbulent international landscape when multilateralism is under attack, the three major countries should stand together to uphold the purposes of the UN Charter, the true multilateralism and the free trade system, and provide more positive energy to the world, Wang said.
Since French President Emmanuel Macron's visit to China late last year, bilateral relations have maintained a positive and dynamic momentum, with various departments following up on the outcomes of the visit, and exchanges and cooperation across various fields gathering pace, Wang said.
The two sides should chart the course for the next stage of exchanges, constantly enhance mutual understanding and trust, and expand mutually beneficial cooperation, Wang added.
Both China and France are independent and responsible major countries, and multilateral coordination is an important feature of their bilateral relationship, Wang said, urging both sides to address the deficit in global governance and support each other's multilateral initiatives.
For his part, Barrot said that Macron's successful visit to China last year led to in-depth strategic communication and a series of important common understandings between the two leaders.
France attaches great importance to China's status and role as a major country and firmly adheres to the one-China policy, Barrot said.
He expressed France's willingness to work with China to follow through on the consensus reached by the two leaders, strengthen institutional dialogue across various fields, deepen mutually beneficial economic and trade cooperation, and properly handle frictions through dialogue and consultation.
Barrot noted that as France holds the G7 presidency and China hosts APEC this year, France looks forward to maintaining close multilateral communication and coordination with China, working together to address critical issues such as global governance.
The two sides also exchanged views on issues such as the Ukraine crisis and the Iranian nuclear issue.
Chinese FM urges China, France to work together to prevent world from reverting to "law of jungle"
