Israel will reopen the Rafah border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt on Sunday, allowing pedestrian traffic to flow both ways as those impacted by a devastating war seek critical aid.
The Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), the Israeli government unit in charge of humanitarian aid in Gaza, announced on Friday morning that the opening would be “for limited movement of people only.”
“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,” the COGAT statement said.
The announcement comes in coordination with the next phase of President Donald Trump‘s peace plan in the region and follows Monday’s return of the last fallen hostage to Israel.
The crossing is now set to reopen one week after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, following a cabinet meeting, that it would soon open on a “limited basis for the passage of people only, with a full Israeli oversight mechanism.”
The Rafah border crossing is positioned adjacent to Egypt along the only land border Gaza does not share with Israel. Egyptian officials have said the country is “100% ready” to send humanitarian aid through to Gaza and receive wounded Palestinians.
The opening would allow aid to flow through to Gaza, which has experienced a dire humanitarian crisis since Israel’s attacks on the region in response to Hamas’s October 2023 attack on the Jewish State. The border was briefly opened throughout 2025 for aid and medical evacuations, but has largely been closed since Israel seized it in May 2024.
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“The return of residents from Egypt to the Gaza Strip 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,” COGAT’s Friday statement said. “In addition to initial identification and screening at the Rafah Crossing by the European Union mission, an additional screening and identification process will be conducted at a designated corridor, operated by the defense establishment in an area under @IDF control.”
The border will first open for dozens of medical evacuees from Gaza to Egypt, as well as Gazans who fled but wish to return home from Egypt, according to the Associated Press.