Israel announces plan to reopen Gaza’s Rafah crossing on Sunday

Al Jazeera :

Israel plans to reopen the Rafah border crossing on Sunday, after nearly two years of closure.
However, the crossing that links Gaza with Egypt will only be opened to allow a “limited movement of people,” the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), an Israeli defence ministry body overseeing civil affairs in the Palestinian territories, said in a statement on Friday.
The opening of the crossing – a key entry point for desperately needed humanitarian supplies for Gaza’s two million or so displaced people lacking food, shelter and medicines – is stipulated under the second phase of the United States-brokered ceasefire deal designed to bring a halt to the devastating war between Hamas and Israel, although no timeframe is set.
The core part of the first phase of the plan was completed after the return of the remains of the last Israeli captive in Gaza earlier this week.
Hamas then released a statement calling for Israel to complete the implementation of all the provisions of the ceasefire agreement, “especially the opening of the Rafah Crossing in both directions without restrictions”.
Israel, however, intends to keep tight control of the crossing.
“Exit from and entry into the Gaza Strip via the Rafah Crossing will be permitted in coordination with Egypt, following prior security clearance of individuals by Israel, and under the supervision of the European Union mission, similar to the mechanism implemented in January 2025,” COGAT said.
The statement added that the return of residents from Egypt to Gaza will be permitted, “in coordination with Egypt, for residents who left Gaza during the course of the war only, and only after prior security clearance by Israel”.
It said an additional screening and identification process will also be conducted at a designated corridor under Israeli army control.
The crossing lies in territory still held by Israeli forces after they pulled back behind the so-called “yellow line” under the terms of the ceasefire.
Israeli troops still control more than half of Gaza, and their military operations and strikes continue to kill people across the enclave, despite the supposed halt to fighting.
Earlier on Friday, Hamas had once more called on Israel to immediately reopen the crossing, calling for the “immediate transition to the second phase” of the truce, which also includes the entry of a recently appointed technocratic Palestinian committee to administer the territory.
The Rafah crossing is a vital entry point for desperately needed humanitarian supplies [File: EPA]
The closure of the gateway continues to limit humanitarian supplies for a population now struggling through winter storms.
The United Nations and other international organisations have also repeatedly called for the reopening, given the dire humanitarian situation in the territory.
Israel had said on Monday that it would reopen Rafah when it received the remains of the last captive, which happened on the same day. Police officer Ran Gvili was laid to rest on Wednesday.
Earlier in January, the US had announced that the ceasefire had progressed to its second phase, intended to bring a definitive end to the war. However, Hamas and Israel accuse one another of truce violations on a near-daily basis.
Hamas on Friday repeated its call for the ceasefire’s guarantors – Egypt, the US, Qatar and Turkey – to exert “serious pressure” on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to prevent him from obstructing the fragile deal.
Israeli strikes and operations, which its military says target “terrorists,” have killed more than 490 people since the ceasefire came into force, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza.
More than 71,600 people have been killed in the enclave since October 7, 2023, when Israel’s war in Gaza was launched following Hamas’s attack on Israel.