Israel to reopen Gaza’s border crossing with Egypt
|
Gaza’s Rafah crossing with Egypt will reopen on Sunday, the Israeli government agency that co-ordinates civilian policy in Gaza, COGAT, says.
COGAT said in a statement on Friday that “limited movement of people only” would be allowed.
The reopening of the Rafah crossing will mark an important step forward for US President Donald Trump’s Gaza ceasefire plan. The crossing, Gaza’s main gateway to the outside world, has been largely closed since May 2024.
Both Israel and Egypt will vet individuals for exit and entry through the crossing, which will be supervised by European Union border patrol agents.
Palestinians who left Gaza during the war will be allowed to return upon getting Israeli security clearance.
Israel had resisted reopening the crossing, but the recovery of the remains of the last hostage in Gaza on Monday cleared the way to move forward.
Earlier Israel released 15 bodies of Palestinians killed during its war in the Gaza Strip, three days after recovering the remains of the last hostage, in moves mediators hope will pave the way to carrying out the next stage of US President Donald Trump’s peace plan.
Police officer Ron Gvili was one of 251 hostages seized and taken to the enclave by Palestinian Hamas militants during their October 7, 2023 cross-border attack that triggered the war.
At the time of a ceasefire deal that Israel and Hamas agreed in October, 48 hostages remained in the Gaza Strip, 28 of whom were believed to be dead, including Gvili.
Handing over all remaining living and dead hostages was a core commitment written into the first phase of the ceasefire deal.
Subsequent stages remain to be fulfilled, with deep splits over what comes next, including Hamas disarmament.
In a statement, the International Committee of the Red Cross said it had facilitated the return of 15 deceased Palestinians to the Gaza Strip after Israel recovered Gvili’s remains.
“This marks the completion of a months-long operation that reunited families and supported the implementation of the ceasefire agreement,” the ICRC statement added.
The operation began in October with the release of 20 living hostages by Hamas and 1808 Palestinian prisoners by Israel, the ICRC said.
In subsequent phases, the ICRC smoothed returns of the deceased, including 27 of 28 hostages and 360 Palestinians.
“We are relieved to have helped reunite families with their loved ones. For families whose deceased relatives were returned, we hope this brought the possibility to fully mourn,” said Julien Lerisson, the ICRC’s regional head.
The Hamas-run health ministry confirmed it had received the 15 bodies, saying it would now try to identify them.
Only 99 of the Palestinian bodies handed over since October have been identified, it added, with health officials forced to bury unidentified bodies in mass graves.
In the latest violence rattling the fragile ceasefire, medics said two men were killed by Israeli forces in eastern Khan Younis, in an area adjacent to where the army operates.
The Israeli military told Reuters it was unaware of any casualties as a result of Israeli fire on Thursday.
The Gazan health ministry said Israeli air strikes, tank shelling and gunfire have killed at least 490 people since the truce took effect in October after two years of war that widely demolished the Palestinian enclave.
with AP
Reuters
