Several Palestinians returning to Gaza have accused Israeli soldiers of stealing their phones, cash, and jewellery during security checks at a new checkpoint near Kerem Abu Salem crossing in Rafah in the southern coastal enclave .
The accusations emerged on Tuesday, the first day Israel implemented a "new mandatory inspection system" for Palestinians returning to Gaza through the partially reopened Rafah crossing with Egypt.
Under the new arrangements, travellers must undergo an additional Israeli security inspection before being allowed to continue into the besieged enclave.
Speaking with The New Arab , Palestinian returnees say they discovered personal belongings missing after completing the inspections, turning what they had hoped would be a long-awaited journey home into another ordeal.
The Israeli military has not publicly responded to the latest accusation. New inspection procedures Under the new travel arrangements, Palestinians arriving from Egypt first complete travel formalities at the Palestinian terminal on the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing before undergoing security screening administered by the European Border Assistance Mission (EUBAM).
Their journey, however, no longer ends at Rafah.
Instead, buses carrying returnees continue toward the Kerem Abu Salem crossing, where passengers are instructed to disembark, collect all of their luggage and walk about one kilometre to a newly established Israeli checkpoint.
According to multiple returnees, every suitcase is scanned electronically before passengers are instructed to empty all of their belongings into transparent plastic containers.
Clothing is separated from electronic devices, documents, cash and valuables while Israeli soldiers and civilian personnel supervise the inspections.
After the searches are completed, passengers repack their belongings and carry their luggage another considerable distance before boarding buses that continue into Gaza through roads under full Israeli military control.
Abu Salah, a 65-year-old Palestinian returning to Gaza after spending about two and a half years in Egypt, described the journey as physically exhausting and humiliating.
"The entire road was filled with military vehicles," he described to TNA . "We passed destroyed neighbourhoods, bulldozed cemeteries and areas that had been turned into military positions."
He said the convoy also passed near the European Hospital south of Khan Younis, where widespread destruction remained visible on both sides of the road.
According to Abu Salah, elderly people, women, and children struggled to carry heavy luggage in scorching heat after waiting for hours during the inspection process.
He explained that the buses of returnees stopped repeatedly at Israeli military gates before being allowed to continue their journey into Gaza.
Israel continues to maintain tight control over movement into and out of the Gaza Strip despite the partial reopening of the Rafah crossing earlier this year.
Every traveller entering or leaving Gaza requires prior Israeli approval, while crossings remain subject to extensive security procedures.
According to Palestinian and Israeli figures, around 4,400 Palestinians have left Gaza through the Rafah crossing since it partially reopened earlier this year, while approximately 4,100 have returned under tightly controlled arrangements. Returnees recount thefts For many passengers, the journey became even more distressing after they completed the security checks.
Abu Mohammed, who left Gaza in April 2024 and returned this week after living in Egypt for more than three years, said he discovered that his mobile phone and his daughter's wedding jewellery had disappeared during the inspection.
"They took three bags and my iPhone," he told TNA . "My daughter's wedding jewellery, including five bracelets, a necklace, a ring and her wedding band, also disappeared."
He said the jewellery consisted of personal belongings rather than commercial merchandise.
"It was everything she owned for her wedding," he added.
Similar testimonies were shared by other Palestinians travelling on the same route.
Um Alaa Abu Saleh, a returnee from Gaza City , told TNA that the travellers were instructed to leave their belongings in designated inspection areas before passing through security screening.
"When we collected our things, the money was gone. The phones were gone. There was gold missing too," she described.
She added that around 10 women travelling on the same convoy reported that pieces of their personal jewellery were taken.
According to Um Alaa, passengers who attempted to search for missing belongings found no mechanism to submit complaints.
"There was nobody to speak to," she said. "People had no choice but to continue travelling into Gaza."
Another returnee, Samiha al-Safadi, described a similar experience involving her son's family.
"They allowed no phones through, but they also took my daughter-in-law's gold," she said. "It was her necklace and rings. They were her personal jewellery, not goods for sale."
Al-Safadi added that the Israeli personnel repeatedly informed travellers that gold was prohibited from entering Gaza.
"If gold wasn't allowed, they should have informed people before the journey," she said. "Instead, people are discovering that their belongings were missing after inspection."
She added that none of the returnees had received prior instructions indicating that personal jewellery or certain electronic devices would not be permitted, raising questions about the transparency of the new inspection procedures.
She explained that there was no apparent mechanism at the checkpoint to report missing belongings before they continued their journey into the Gaza Strip. Rights groups call for an investigation The latest accusations come against the backdrop of previous complaints by Palestinians regarding the disappearance of cash, jewellery, electronic devices and other valuables during Israel's genocidal war on Gaza and in the occupied West Bank.
Since Israeli ground operations began in late 2023, Palestinian human rights organisations have documented testimonies from civilians alleging that personal property disappeared during military raids, house searches, evacuations and displacement operations.
The Independent Commission for Human Rights (ICHR), the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) and Al Mezan Centre for Human Rights have recorded complaints involving money, gold jewellery and other personal belongings allegedly lost during Israeli military operations in homes, shelters and medical facilities.
The organisations have called for independent international investigations into the allegations, saying that if verified, such incidents could constitute unlawful appropriation of civilian property under international humanitarian law.
The controversy surrounding the new inspection procedures also follows earlier disputes over travel arrangements through the Rafah crossing, including reports by Palestinian and Israeli media concerning the participation of members of the Abu Shabab group in aspects of inspection procedures, claims that drew criticism from Palestinian factions and civil society groups.
Today, for many making the journey home, the reopening of the crossing represented the first opportunity to return after months, and in some cases years, away from Gaza .
However, the returnees said that the lengthy inspections and the reported disappearance of personal belongings overshadowed their return, prompting calls for an independent investigation into the allegations and for clearer procedures to safeguard travellers' property during future crossings.
The Israeli army has not publicly commented on either the latest allegations concerning the Kerem Abu Salem checkpoint or the previous complaints documented by Palestinian human rights organisations.
Historically, since 1948, Israeli soldiers have commonly looted from residents in lands they have occupied in Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, and elsewhere.