Israel has agreed to reopen 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,” Netanyahu’s office said in a statement.
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 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.
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The Israel Defense Forces has launched a “targeted operation” to retrieve those remains, which are that of Ran Gvili, a 24-year-old policeman who was killed in southern Israel on Oct. 7. They are currently searching a cemetery in northern Gaza for his body.
“Upon completion of this operation, and in accordance with what has been agreed upon with the US, Israel will open the Rafah Crossing,” Netanyahu’s office said.
This is a developing story.