Tel aviv: Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar announced on Thursday that the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt is likely to reopen on Sunday, as reported by the daily Yedioth Ahronoth. Saar indicated that preparations are underway to reopen the terminal soon, although he did not provide further specifics on the efforts being made.
According to Anadolu Agency, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty revealed early Thursday that Cairo is engaged in discussions with Israel to facilitate the opening of the border. The purpose is to "literally flood Gaza with food and relief materials," addressing the dire humanitarian situation in the enclave. Abdelatty emphasized that the Rafah crossing "is open from the Egyptian side 24/7."
Despite a scheduled reopening on Wednesday under the first phase of a Gaza ceasefire agreement, the border crossing remained closed from the Palestinian side on Thursday. Since May 2024, the Israeli army has restricted Palestinian movement through the Rafah crossing, which was Gaza's sole access point to the outside world not under Tel Aviv's control before the onset of the Israeli war in October 2023.
Israeli media reports suggest that Tel Aviv is withholding the reopening of the crossing until it has received the remains of all Israeli hostages held by Hamas. Although Hamas has released 20 living Israeli hostages and returned the remains of 10 captives in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners under the ceasefire deal, the group stated on Wednesday that it is making "great effort" to locate the remains of other captives.
The ceasefire agreement, reached between Israel and Hamas last week, follows a plan proposed by US President Donald Trump. The initial phase involved the exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners. The plan also envisions the reconstruction of Gaza and the creation of a new governing body that excludes Hamas.
Since October 2023, Israeli military actions have resulted in the deaths of nearly 68,000 Palestinians in the enclave, predominantly women and children, and have left the area largely uninhabitable.