Rafah crossing has reopened, and once again, the headlines followed a familiar script: progress, but not enough, hope with caveats, and blame placed squarely on Israel.
What’s missing from much of the coverage is the most important fact: Rafah is not an Israel–Gaza crossing. It is a Gaza–Egypt crossing.
Egypt has always been a central actor in this conflict, with the ability to control who crosses, and its own security interests at stake. That role is rarely centered on reporting. At the same time, Hamas’ long-standing use of Rafah for weapons smuggling is often treated as background noise, while Israel’s security measures are framed as obstacles.
This imbalance distorts public understanding of responsibility, agency, and risk.
Rafah reopening is real progress. But progress without context is misleading.
You can criticize Israel. But you don’t get to erase Egypt, minimize Hamas, and still call it honest reporting.