Israel reopens Rafah crossing on a ‘limited basis’
The Rafah crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt has been reopened on a limited basis as part of the second phase of the ceasefire, Israeli officials said.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened his security cabinet before announcing that the crossing would allow only people to pass and would operate under full Israeli oversight,reportedly tied to elements of a 20-point plan. Israel conditioned the reopening on the return of all living hostages and on Hamas’s full efforts to locate and return deceased hostages; Hamas had already released the remaining living hostages last year, but the body of one hostage has not been found. The Israel Defense Forces launched a targeted operation in northern Gaza to recover the remains of Ran Gvili. This is a developing story.
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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