leaving

Khan Younis, Gaza – The headlines read that Israel has finally reopened the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt, allowing injured Palestinians desperate for medical aid to leave.

However, the reality is that on the first day of the opening, on Monday, Israel only allowed five patients to exit Gaza via the crossing, forcing hundreds, if not thousands, of others to wait.

Mohammed Abu Mostafa is one of the lucky five. The 17-year-old travelled on Monday with his mother, Randa, to southern Gaza’s Khan Younis, and then on to Rafah, which has been closed by Israel for two years as it waged its genocidal war on Gaza, killing more than 70,000 Palestinians.

Randa told Al Jazeera that she had received a phone call on Monday morning informing her that Mohammed had been included in the first list of wounded patients scheduled to travel, and that they were instructed to head immediately to the Red Crescent Hospital in Khan Younis.

The reopening of Rafah, Gaza’s only land crossing that does not go through Israel, has been much touted as evidence of the progress of the second phase of the United States-backed Gaza “ceasefire” deal.

But events on Monday revealed a different reality, marked by strict security restrictions, complex procedures, and limited numbers being allowed to cross, falling far short of expectations and the scale of Gaza’s accumulated humanitarian needs.

Each of the five patients being allowed to leave was accompanied by two people as per Israeli orders, bringing the total number of travellers to 15, according to information provided to Gaza’s health authorities.

Mohammad Abu Salmiya, the director of Gaza’s al-Shifa Medical Complex, told Al Jazeera that this was the only group that departed, despite prior plans with the World Health Organization (WHO) – the body overseeing coordination between Egypt and Israel – for the departure of 50 patients daily.

Egyptian official sources have told Al Jazeera that 50 Palestinians were also permitted to return to Gaza via the Rafah crossing, though no information is yet available on whether they have actually reached the Palestinian side.

Ismail al-Thawabta, the director of Gaza’s Government Media Office, highlighted just how low these numbers are compared with the approximately 22,000 people needing to leave Gaza for treatment abroad. Meanwhile, about 80,000 Palestinians who left Gaza during the war want to return, he said.

Eye injury

Mohammed was injured in an Israeli air attack a year and a half ago, near where his family had been displaced in al-Mawasi, Khan Younis, Randa said. He sustained a direct injury to his eye, severely affecting his optic nerve and ability to see.

“My son has been suffering immensely since his injury. Day after day, his condition kept worsening, and there is no treatment available for him in Gaza,” Randa said, while waiting in the hospital courtyard alongside other patients and their relatives.

Despite her joy at finally being able to accompany her son on his journey, Randa feels a sense of anguish at having to leave four of her six children behind, as she was only permitted to take one child as a second companion.

“What matters to me now is that my son regains his sight and can see again with his own eyes. That is my only concern at the moment,” Randa said.

“I also hope to return to Gaza soon after my son recovers, that the blockade will be lifted, and that all patients will be able to travel, just like my son.”

Israeli restrictions

In the Red Crescent Hospital courtyard, dozens of patients on travel waiting lists expressed frustration over the first-day restrictions at Rafah.

Several patients, including those with amputations, gathered at the hospital, hoping to be permitted to travel to Egypt for treatment.

Despite patients and their families arriving early in the morning with high hopes, Israeli authorities refused to permit more than five patients to leave, leading to widespread dissatisfaction with the complex mechanisms accompanying the crossing’s partial reopening.

The multi-stage security procedure of Palestinians moving through the Rafah crossing begins with the preparation of daily lists of candidates for travel, which are then referred to the Israeli side for pre-travel security screening.

No one is allowed to pass through the crossing or enter it without explicit Israeli approval. The European Union Border Assistance Mission deployed to Rafah is limited to monitoring the process and verifying identities.

Arrivals in Gaza, after initial identity verification at the crossing under European supervision, are subject to additional inspection procedures at checkpoints located in areas under Israeli military control.

Raed al-Nims, the Gaza Red Crescent’s head of media, told Al Jazeera that the organisation was still waiting for updates regarding the transfer of more patients for treatment through the crossing.

He added that a group of patients was successfully transferred to Israel on Monday through the Kerem Abu Salem crossing, in coordination with the WHO.

Desperate need

Ibrahim Abu Thuraya was also one of the five patients allowed to leave Gaza on Monday.

Ibrahim was injured in the early months of the war, sustaining wounds that led to the amputation of his left hand and an injury to his left eye, where shrapnel is still embedded.

“Day after day, my eye condition is deteriorating, and I feel severe pain, especially since the shrapnel is lodged behind it and there are no medical capabilities in Gaza to deal with it,” he said from Khan Younis, before he travelled to Rafah. “Doctors told me that I need to travel abroad.”

Ibrahim was informed on Monday morning by the WHO and Gaza’s Ministry of Health that he had been approved for travel. He will be accompanied by his wife, Samar, and their son.

“I have suffered greatly for two full years just to be able to leave for treatment, and there are thousands of wounded like me,” he said. “I hope the crossing will be opened permanently.”

The conspiracy thriller series has been hailed a “masterpiece” and left fans devastated when it was axed.

Television fans searching for their next gripping watch have been encouraged to discover a conspiracy thriller series being praised as a “masterpiece”. Utopia, penned by Dennis Kelly and featuring Fiona O’Shaughnessy, Adeel Akhtar, Paul Higgins and Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, debuted on Channel 4 in 2013, with its second series arriving the following year.

The sci-fi drama centres on a group of graphic novel enthusiasts who become convinced that a comic book, The Utopia Experiments, foretold various catastrophic epidemics and significant global events including mad cow disease. They embark on a quest to locate a rumoured unpublished follow-up that might contain warnings about future mysteries waiting to unfold.

After one member of the group gets hold of a manuscript, he arranges to meet fellow online forum members in person, only to be murdered shortly afterwards. The remaining four manage to meet up and obtain the manuscript, but quickly find themselves entangled in a dangerous maze of deception as a shadowy organisation known as The Network pursues it relentlessly.

Operatives from The Network will stop at nothing to secure the manuscript, eliminating anyone who stands between them and their target as they search for both the document and an individual called Jessica Hyde (portrayed by Fiona). It later emerges that Jessica’s father authored the Utopia manuscripts, and she’s spent her entire existence evading The Network’s clutches.

As the group becomes entangled in The Network’s web, their lives unravel and the organisation’s true intentions emerge. Concurrently, they grapple with understanding the unfolding situation amidst a backdrop of terrifying global events, including whispers of a “Russian flu”, which has since drawn parallels to the Covid-19 pandemic, reports the Express. However, Kelly has firmly dismissed any connections, maintaining that his work is purely fictional.

Thirteen years after its initial release, viewers are rekindling their interest in Utopia. One Reddit user seeking recommendations for British thrillers wrote: “Hello there! I’m looking for some good British thrillers to watch. I really enjoyed The Day of the Jackal, The Capture, and Steal. Anything in that vibe would be great.” A fellow user promptly suggested: “If you like a bit of a conspiracy I recommend Utopia. In my view a underrated cinematic masterpiece.”

On Rotten Tomatoes, Utopia boasts an impressive 100% rating. One reviewer described it as a “Dark, creepy, disturbing, entertaining show. This is 2013 show, but looking through events current pandemic 2020 year, it may make you feel uncomfortable.”

Another hailed it as “the best show ever made” praising it as “thrilling, suspenseful, unsettling, tense.”

Another hailed it as “the best TV show you’ve probably never heard of,” gushing: “Utopia is a masterpiece! Not only is this one of the most intense and twisted shows I’ve ever seen, it’s also absolutely beautiful! The cinematography alone left me in awe and don’t even get me started on the soundtrack! This is not your typical TV show. In fact it’s a whole lot more than just a TV show. It’s an artwork that is being unfolded in front of your very eyes.”

One devotee described it as “devastatingly sublime,” claiming the series will “ravage your senses”. Others labelled it “a hidden and forgotten gem” and “mindblowing”.

A particularly passionate viewer declared: “This is my absolute favourite show ever. Everything is done to absolute perfection. Criminally underrated and such a shame they cancelled it.”

Viewers were left heartbroken when Channel 4 pulled the plug on Utopia in 2014. A network spokesperson reflected at the time: “Utopia is truly channel-defining: strikingly original, powered by Dennis Kelly’s extraordinary voice and brought to life in all its technicolor glory through Marc Munden’s undeniable creative flair and vision, the team at Kudos delivered a series which has achieved fervent cult status over two brilliantly warped and nail-biting series.

“It also has the honour of ensuring audiences will never look at a spoon in the same way again. It’s always painful to say goodbye to shows we love, but it’s a necessary part of being able to commission new drama, a raft of which are launching on the channel throughout 2015.”

Utopia can be streamed on Tubi.