Israeli media reported on Wednesday that Tel Aviv has decided to proceed with opening the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt, allowing humanitarian aid to enter the Strip following the return of the remains of four Israeli captives.
اضافة اعلان
The Israeli government also canceled measures it had planned against Hamas, which included halving the number of aid trucks entering Gaza. With the reopening of the crossing today, 600 aid trucks are expected to enter the Strip.
Earlier, the Israeli government had decided not to open Rafah Crossing in response to what it described as Hamas’ failure to deliver the remaining bodies of Israeli captives killed during Israel’s airstrikes on Gaza during the war.
Israeli Channel 11 reported that the political leadership had initially decided to significantly reduce humanitarian aid to Gaza, following recommendations from security agencies. The security system had advised the government not to open Rafah fully or deliver complete aid until all Israeli captives’ remains were returned.
According to Israeli newspaper Maariv, the agreement between Hamas and Israel did not specify the number of deceased hostages to be handed over on Monday, but Hamas delivered four bodies to the Red Cross in compliance with the deal.
Meanwhile, Haaretz cited unnamed sources indicating that Israeli estimates expected the return of bodies to take weeks, but did not anticipate only four being delivered. The Israeli army claimed that Hamas possesses information on several detained deceased individuals, not just the four bodies delivered.
Haaretz also noted that the political leadership has not disclosed whether the delayed delivery constitutes a breach of the agreement or a reasonable delay.
Risk of Agreement Collapse
In this context, Yedioth Ahronoth cited a political official warning that the failure to return all bodies could jeopardize the agreement. No decision has yet been made on whether the delay constitutes a violation, but Israel is considering the matter, especially as Hamas has indicated it will face difficulties returning all remains.
Under U.S. President Donald Trump’s Gaza ceasefire plan, the crossing was scheduled to reopen on Wednesday after the completion of the return of Israeli captives’ remains. The agreement acknowledged challenges in recovering the remains due to technical and excavation constraints.
On Monday, Hamas released twenty living Israeli captives and handed over four bodies, stating that additional time is needed to recover 24 more bodies, before transferring another four on Tuesday evening.
— (Al Jazeera)
