Israel reopens Rafah crossing on a ‘limited basis’
Israel has reopened the Rafah crossing with Egypt on a limited basis as part of the second phase of the ceasefire in the Israel–Hamas war. The move, announced after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened his security cabinet, allows passage of people only under full Israeli oversight and is linked to elements of former President Trump’s 20-point plan. Netanyahu said the reopening remains conditioned on the return of hostages and on Hamas making a full effort to locate and return the remains of deceased hostages. Although Hamas released the remaining living hostages last year, the remains of one hostage—ran Gvili—have not been recovered; the IDF launched a targeted operation in northern Gaza to retrieve his body. The situation is developing.
Israel reopens Rafah crossing on a ‘limited basis’
Israel has reopened the Rafah crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, in what is a key part of the second phase of the ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened his security cabinet for discussions on the crossing point earlier on Sunday. His office announced hours after that it would be reopened on a “limited basis.”
“As part of President Trump’s 20-point plan, Israel has agreed to open the Rafah crossing on a limited basis for the passage of people only, with a full Israeli oversight mechanism,” the statement said.
A sticking point was the return of the remains of the last hostage taken during Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack on Israel.
Netanyahu maintained that the reopening of the Rafah Crossing is still “conditioned on the return of all living hostages and the execution of 100% effort on the part of Hamas to locate and return all deceased hostages.”
Hamas released all of the remaining living hostages last year, though the remains of one hostage have still not been located.
The Israel Defense Forces, however, launched a “targeted operation” just before Netanyahu’s announcement to retrieve the body of Ran Gvili, who is the last remaining hostage and whose body is somewhere in the Gaza Strip.
The IDF said they were searching “in the area of the Yellow Line in northern Gaza.”
This is a developing story.
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