The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said late Sunday that Israel will reopen the Rafah crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt for the passage of people only, after completing efforts to determine the location of the body of the last remaining Israeli captive in the enclave.
اضافة اعلان
The crossing was originally supposed to be opened during the first phase of U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan to end the war, under the ceasefire reached in October.
However, Israel linked the reopening of the crossing to the return of all captives—both alive and deceased—from Gaza.
All captives have been returned except for the body of police officer Ran Gvili.
The Israeli military said on Sunday that it had launched a “targeted operation” in northern Gaza to recover his body, while an Israeli military official said there were “several intelligence leads” regarding his possible location.
Netanyahu’s office said in a statement that the Israeli military is “currently conducting a focused operation to exhaust all intelligence information collected in an attempt to locate the deceased captive and bring him back.”
The statement added that once the operation is completed, “Israel will reopen the Rafah crossing.”
The Gaza side of the crossing has been under Israeli military control since 2024.
Netanyahu’s office said: “Within the framework of President Trump’s 20-point plan, Israel agreed to reopen the Rafah crossing on a limited basis for the passage of people only, subject to a full Israeli inspection mechanism.”
Earlier this month, Washington announced that the plan had moved to its second phase, under which Israel is expected to withdraw additional forces from Gaza and Hamas is expected to relinquish control over the administration of the territory.
Last week, three sources said that Israel is seeking to restrict the number of Palestinians entering Gaza through the border crossing with Egypt, to ensure that the number of Palestinians leaving the enclave exceeds those entering.
Reuters
