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Israel Addresses Limited Rafah Crossing Reopening
(MENAFN) The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced late Sunday that it had consented to a partial resumption of operations at the Rafah Crossing, aligning the move with US President Donald Trump’s 20-point peace initiative 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.
The statement added that Israel intends to activate the crossing only after concluding the ongoing search mission for the remains of Israeli soldier Ran Gvili.
Israel has kept the Palestinian side of the Rafah Crossing completely shut since May 2024, a measure taken amid its two-year military campaign in the Gaza Strip. That offensive has resulted in the deaths of more than 71,400 people, the majority of them women and children, since October 2023.
Over recent months, Israeli authorities have repeatedly tied any reopening of the Palestinian side of the crossing to the recovery of the body of what it describes as its final captive held in Gaza.
The Rafah Crossing, which connects Gaza with Egypt, had been scheduled to resume operations in October during the initial stage of a ceasefire deal that went into force on Oct. 10. However, Israel did not implement that provision.
Following the start of the first ceasefire phase, Palestinian groups released 20 Israeli captives alive and handed over the remains of 27 others. Gvili’s body has yet to be returned.
Since the ceasefire agreement took effect, the Israeli military has carried out hundreds of violations, leading to the deaths of at least 484 Palestinians and injuries to 1,321 more, according to figures from the Health Ministry.
"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.
The statement added that Israel intends to activate the crossing only after concluding the ongoing search mission for the remains of Israeli soldier Ran Gvili.
Israel has kept the Palestinian side of the Rafah Crossing completely shut since May 2024, a measure taken amid its two-year military campaign in the Gaza Strip. That offensive has resulted in the deaths of more than 71,400 people, the majority of them women and children, since October 2023.
Over recent months, Israeli authorities have repeatedly tied any reopening of the Palestinian side of the crossing to the recovery of the body of what it describes as its final captive held in Gaza.
The Rafah Crossing, which connects Gaza with Egypt, had been scheduled to resume operations in October during the initial stage of a ceasefire deal that went into force on Oct. 10. However, Israel did not implement that provision.
Following the start of the first ceasefire phase, Palestinian groups released 20 Israeli captives alive and handed over the remains of 27 others. Gvili’s body has yet to be returned.
Since the ceasefire agreement took effect, the Israeli military has carried out hundreds of violations, leading to the deaths of at least 484 Palestinians and injuries to 1,321 more, according to figures from the Health Ministry.
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