Israel agrees to limited reopening of Rafah Crossing

ISTANBUL

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said late Sunday that it has agreed to a limited reopening of the Rafah Crossing as part of US President Donald Trump’s 20-point peace plan for Gaza.

"As part of President Trump’s 20-point plan, Israel has agreed to a limited reopening of the Rafah Crossing for pedestrian passage only, subject to a full Israeli inspection mechanism. The reopening of the crossing was conditioned upon the return of all living hostages and a 100% effort by Hamas to locate and return all deceased hostages," Netanyahu's office wrote on the US social media company X’s platform.

It noted that Israel will open the crossing once the search operation for the body of Israeli soldier Ran Gvili is completed.

Israel has fully closed the Palestinian side of the Rafah Crossing since May 2024 as part of its two-year offensive on the Gaza Strip, which has killed more than 71,400 people, mostly women and children, since October 2023.

In recent months, it has linked the reopening of the Palestinian side to the return of the body of its last captive from the Strip.

The Rafah crossing, linking Gaza and Egypt, was slated to reopen in October under the first phase of a ceasefire agreement that took effect on Oct. 10, but Israel did not comply.

Since the first phase of the ceasefire, Palestinian factions have released 20 Israeli captives alive and returned the remains of 27 others. The body of Gvili remains outstanding.

Since the ceasefire agreement came into effect, the Israeli army has committed hundreds of violations, killing at least 484 Palestinians and wounding 1,321 others, according to the Health Ministry.