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Palestinian Eagerly awaiting the reopening of the Rafah crossing, Gaza’s lifeline and only gateway to the uncontrolled outside world Israel before the war.
Israel announced on Monday that the remains of the last hostage had been returned and the ceremony was expected to be open. GazaRan Gvili has recovered. Hours earlier, Israel said it would open the Rafah crossing on a limited basis once the search operation in Gweli was completed.
Opening of the crossing point between Gaza and Gaza EgyptSyria, which was controlled by Egypt before the war, is seen as the start of the second phase of a US-brokered ceasefire, although its opening was called for as part of the first phase.
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It is unclear when the crossing will open and whether goods and people will be allowed in and out of the war-torn territory. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said late Sunday that Israel had agreed to reopen “pedestrian-only access, subject to Israel’s comprehensive inspection mechanism.”
Hamas called on Israel in a statement on Monday to open the Rafah crossing in both directions “without restrictions.” Ali Shaath, head of the new Palestinian council that governs Gaza’s day-to-day affairs, said last week that crossings would open this week to facilitate movement in and out of the enclave.
The reopened Rafah crossing will make it easier for Gazans to seek medical care, travel internationally or visit family in Egypt, home to tens of thousands of Palestinians. It would also help Gaza’s battered economy, as Palestinian-made olive oil and other products are widely sold in Egypt and throughout the Arab world.
“We hope this will stop Israel’s excuses and open the crossings,” said Gaza City resident Abdel-Rahman Radwan, whose mother is a cancer patient who needs treatment outside Gaza.
Israel also says Palestinians who want to leave Gaza must obtain approval from Israeli and Egyptian security services. Egypt has said it wants the crossing to be opened immediately in both directions so that Egyptian Palestinians can enter Gaza. Egypt has always opposed the permanent settlement of Palestinian refugees in the country.
Gaza’s lifeline
With much of Gaza reduced to rubble, the United Nations says the area’s population of more than 2 million will need massive amounts of fuel, food, medicine and tents. While some aid has been coming in through the crossings, trucks have been queuing outside the crossings for months, waiting for a chance to enter.
Before the war, the Rafah crossing was bustling with goods and people. Although there are four other crossing points in Gaza, they are shared with Israel, with only Rafah connecting the territory to another neighboring country.
Egypt has tightened traffic restrictions at the Rafah crossing following an attack by Hamas-led militants on southern Israel on October 7, 2023 that sparked a war. As part of the offensive, Israel took control of the Gaza side in May 2024 and closed the crossing to only occasional medical evacuations.
Questions about the future
The Gaza side of the Rafah crossing was heavily damaged during the war. Once reopened, Israel agreed to abide by the humanitarian terms set out in the ceasefire agreement that takes effect in January 2025, including allowing a certain number of truckloads of aid to be delivered to Gaza each day.
The current ceasefire agreement requires Hamas not to participate in running Gaza, and it is unclear who will run the territory’s side of the Rafah crossing after the war ends.
The crossing will also become a centerpiece of Gaza’s reconstruction. Last week, Jared Kushner, US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and Middle East adviser, said post-war construction would first focus on “workforce housing” in Rafah, a nearby southern city currently controlled by Israeli forces.
But Netanyahu told the Knesset on Monday: “We are at the beginning of the next phase[of the ceasefire]. What is the next phase? The next phase is to disarm Hamas and demilitarize the Gaza Strip. The next phase is not reconstruction.”
Meanwhile, humanitarian supplies are slowly advancing. On Monday, the Egyptian Red Crescent helped a convoy carrying more than 7,060 tons of food and medical aid enter through the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing, heading to Israel for inspection in Kerem Shalom before potentially entering Gaza, according to Egypt’s National Information Service.
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AP reporter Sami Magdy cairo Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Israel, contributed to this report.
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For more AP coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war