Uncertainty prevails over date of reopening Gaza’s Rafah crossing to passengers under ceasefire deal
Israel says date of opening Rafah crossing to passengers will be announced later, without specifying date
JERUSALEM / ISTANBUL
Uncertainty reigned over the reopening of Gaza’s Rafah crossing to passengers on Thursday, as Israel has refused to specify a scheduled date for opening the border crossing.
Israel’s COGAT, the arm of the military that oversees aid flows into Gaza, said in a statement that the date of opening the terminal to passengers will be announced later, following the completion of necessary arrangements, in cooperation with the Egyptian side.
The border crossing was scheduled to reopen on Wednesday under the first phase of a Gaza ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas that took effect on Friday.
COGAT said that humanitarian aid will not enter the Gaza Strip through the Rafah crossing, as “it has not been agreed upon at any stage.”
It claimed that humanitarian aid “continues to enter the Gaza Strip via the Kerem Shalom border crossing and other crossings, after Israeli security examinations.”
Since May 2024, the Israeli army has been blocking the movement of Palestinians through the Rafah border crossing, the territory’s only window to the outside world that was not controlled by Tel Aviv before the start of the Israeli war in October 2023.
According to Israeli media, Tel Aviv refuses to reopen the crossing until it receives the remains of all Israeli hostages held by Hamas.
Hamas has already released 20 living Israeli hostages and handed over the remains of 10 more captives in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners under the ceasefire deal. The group said on Wednesday that it is exerting “great effort” to locate the remains of other captives.
The ceasefire agreement was reached between Israel and Hamas last week, based on a plan presented by US President Donald Trump. Phase one included the release of Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. The plan also envisages the rebuilding of Gaza and the establishment of a new governing mechanism without Hamas.
Since October 2023, Israeli attacks have killed nearly 68,000 Palestinians in the enclave, most of them women and children, and rendered it largely uninhabitable.
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