For nearly two years, Um Mohammed, a Palestinian woman from Khan Younis City in the southern war-torn coastal enclave , dreamed of the day she would return to Gaza.
The elderly Palestinian had travelled to Egypt for medical treatment, spending months away from the family. During that time, she carefully set aside what little money she could to buy clothes and toys for her four orphaned grandchildren, whose father was killed by the Israeli army 18 months ago.
"For a long time, I have imagined their faces when I handed them the gifts," the 65-year-old mother of six told The New Arab .
But the Israeli soldiers at the border threw these gifts away.
At Israel's newly established checkpoint at the Kerem Abu Salem crossing, Um Mohammed was ordered to open every suitcase she carried and empty its contents into transparent plastic containers for inspection.
Moments later, she watched soldiers discard some of the children's clothes while ordering her to continue walking towards Gaza.
"My son was killed in the war, and my grandchildren are now orphans," she said, struggling to hold back tears. "I bought them clothes while I was receiving treatment in Egypt. The soldiers threw them into the trash right in front of me. I have never felt humiliation like I did yesterday."
Her experience reflects a growing wave of testimonies from Palestinians returning to Gaza through a new Israeli-controlled entry procedure introduced in late June, with many describing the crossing not simply as a security checkpoint but as another layer of psychological punishment imposed on civilians already devastated by nearly three years of a genocidal war.
'Everything was scattered'
The journey back to Gaza no longer ends at the Rafah crossing.
Instead, passengers who arrive from Egypt are transported by bus to the Kerem Abu Salem crossing, where Israeli authorities have established a new inspection point under revised travel arrangements.
There, travellers are required to disembark with all of their luggage, pass through security screening and empty every bag into transparent plastic containers for manual inspection by Israeli troops before being allowed to continue into Gaza.
On Tuesday, dozens of videos posted on social media showed open suitcases strewn across sand and gravel, with clothes blowing in the wind as exhausted travellers rushed to gather their belongings while Israeli soldiers urged them to move faster.
Speaking with TNA , many returnees said they were given only minutes to gather their belongings before being ordered to leave.
Mahmoud, another man who recently returned to Gaza after receiving medical treatment in Egypt, said the inspections were deliberately degrading.
"They stopped us inside the inspection hall and ordered us to empty all our bags," he told TNA . "The soldiers searched through our clothes and personal belongings one by one. When we came outside, our bags had been thrown onto the ground, and everything was scattered across the sand."
"The travellers were forced to collect their possessions while soldiers shouted at them all the time," he said. "It wasn't a normal security inspection. It felt like they wanted to humiliate us."
After the process, he discovered that some of his personal belongings had disappeared during the inspection.
Ahmed al-Najjar, a Gaza-based returnee, told TNA that the Israeli soldiers confiscated several personal items without explanation.
"They took my perfume, my wristwatch, my mobile phone and other belongings," he said. "No one explained why. They told us these items were prohibited and ordered us to leave."
He believes the treatment was intended to send Palestinians a message, saying, "They treated us like criminals rather than civilians returning to our homes. It felt as though they wanted us to think twice before coming back to Gaza."
Gateway under Israeli control
The Rafah crossing has historically been Gaza's only gateway to the outside world that does not pass directly through Israel, serving patients seeking treatment abroad, students, and Palestinians holding foreign residency.
But since Israeli forces seized control of the Palestinian side of the crossing during their offensive in Rafah in May 2024, movement has remained subject to Israeli approval despite the crossing's partial reopening this year under new international arrangements.
Under the current mechanism, passengers complete procedures on the Egyptian side of Rafah before passing through the European Union Border Assistance Mission (EUBAM). They are then transferred to Kerem Abu Salem, where Israeli authorities conduct the final inspection before allowing entry into Gaza .
According to Palestinian and Israeli figures, around 5,000 Palestinians have left Gaza since the crossing partially reopened, while a similar number have returned under the new system.
Many of those returning have completed medical treatment, studies or temporary stays abroad.
Despite Gaza's devastation by Israel, they say remaining separated from their families is an even more painful prospect than returning to a territory shattered by genocide.
'A tool of psychological pressure'
Gaza -based political analyst Ahed Ferwana believes that the new inspection procedures are part of a broader Israeli policy aimed at maintaining control over Palestinian movement while reinforcing a sense of domination.
"Israel does not see the crossing merely as a security point," he told TNA , saying, "It has become an arena for demonstrating complete control over Palestinians' lives, even after allowing them to cross."
He said testimonies describing humiliating searches, luggage scattered across the ground, and confiscated belongings suggest that the procedures go beyond conventional security measures.
"They carry psychological messages intended to reinforce Palestinians' sense that every aspect of their movement remains subject to Israeli authority," he added.
Ferwana argued that establishing the inspection point at Kerem Abu Salem enables Israel to retain indirect control over Rafah despite its partial reopening.
"It ensures that no one enters or leaves Gaza without passing through Israeli oversight," he continued.
He added that the treatment described by returnees could discourage some Palestinians from coming back to the coastal enclave.
"Even moments that should be deeply human, a sick person returning home after treatment or a grandmother bringing gifts to orphaned grandchildren, become experiences of humiliation," he explained.
According to Gaza's health ministry, more than 73,000 Palestinians have been killed and over 173,000 wounded since Israel launched its genocidal war on October 2023.
The United Nations has repeatedly warned that the humanitarian situation in the territory remains catastrophic amid mass displacement, widespread destruction and severe shortages of food, medicine and essential services.