Israel says Rafah crossing will open but row with Egypt creates deadlock

Israel’s promise to allow residents to leave Gaza via the Rafah crossing has hit a roadblock, with Egypt refusing to accept Palestinians without allowing their return.

A policeman monitors trucks of humanitarian aid at a parking point as they wait to travel to cross the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip in January. Picture: AP Photo/Amr Nabil

Israel said it would open the Rafah crossing from Gaza to Egypt “in the coming days” to allow residents to exit the Palestinian territory, although Egypt swiftly denied the claims.

Under the terms of the ceasefire, the long-closed Rafah crossing is to be opened for medical evacuations and travel to and from Gaza. The World Health Organisation says there are more than 16,500 sick and wounded people who need to leave Gaza for medical care.

It was not immediately clear when the border crossing would be opened, however, because of a dispute Israel is having with Egypt, which wants Palestinians to be able to return to Gaza through the crossing.

Israel says Palestinians will not be able to return to Gaza through the crossing until the last hostage remains are returned from Gaza. Egypt, which controls the other side, said the crossing would open only if movement is allowed both ways.

Talks of the border reopening came as Israel prepared to receive more human remains from Hamas. Once the remains are returned to Israel, they will be examined by forensics experts to determine whether they belong to either of the two last hostages in Gaza. Remains militants handed over on Tuesday did not match any of the hostages.

The return of all the hostages taken during the October 7, 2023, attack that started the Israel-Hamas war is a key element of the first phase of the ceasefire that began last month. In exchange, Israel has been releasing Palestinian prisoners.

Masked Hamas militants hand over a body bag believed to contain the remains of a deceased hostage to the Red Cross for transfer to Israeli authorities on Wednesday. Picture: AP /Jehad Alshrafi

Once the last hostages’ remains are returned and Israel releases more Palestinian prisoners in exchange, the US-backed ceasefire plan is supposed to advance to the next phases, which call for creating an international stabilisation force, forming a technocratic Palestinian government and disarming Hamas.

Planned handover comes after snag

Earlier, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said forensic testing showed that partial remains returned by militants on Tuesday did not match either of the hostages still in Gaza. Palestinian militants began searching again and said they had found the remains of a hostage in northern Gaza.

A photo of slain hostage Ran Gvili, whose remains are being held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, is displayed during a rally calling for the return of the deceased hostages. Picture: AP /Mahmoud Illean

The two hostage bodies still in Gaza are that of Israeli Ran Gvili and Thai national Sudthisak Rinthalak. Gvili was an Israeli police officer who helped people escape from the Nova music festival on October 7 and was killed fighting at another location. Rinthalak was an agricultural worker from Thailand who had been employed at Kibbutz Be’eri, one of the hardest-hit communities in the attack.

A total of 31 workers from Thailand were abducted, the largest group of foreigners to be held in captivity. Most of them were released in the first and second ceasefires. The Thai Foreign Ministry has said that in addition to the hostages, 46 Thais had been killed during the war.

Rafah to open in ‘coming days’

The statement about allowing Palestinians to leave Gaza through Rafah came from COGAT, the Israeli military body charged with facilitating aid to Gaza. It said Israel would co-ordinate with Egypt on the exit of Palestinians, under the supervision of a mission from the European Union.

Those wishing to leave Gaza will require “Israeli security approval”, COGAT said.

The US State Department’s Bureau of Near-Eastern Affairs, writing on X, cast the opening of the crossing as a measure that would afford “the most vulnerable Gazans” access to medical care outside Gaza.

Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel would send an envoy to talks with Lebanese diplomatic and economic officials, marking an ‘initial attempt to create a basis for relations and economic co-operation’ between the two countries. Picture: AFP

An Israeli official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss operational plans said all Palestinians who want to exit Gaza will be able to move through Rafah if Egypt agrees to receive them.

Israeli government spokeswoman Shosh Bedrosian said the crossing won’t be open for Palestinians seeking to return to Gaza until all of the hostages in the territory are returned to Israel.

Egypt’s State Information Service denied the Rafah crossing will be “only for the exit” of Palestinians in Gaza. Citing an unnamed Egyptian official, it said the crossing, if an agreement is reached, will be for travel in both directions in accordance with the plan advanced by US President Donald Trump.

The crossing was sealed off in May 2024 when Israel’s military invaded the area. It was briefly opened in February this year for the evacuation of sick and wounded Palestinians for treatment, as part of the previous ceasefire deal.

Meanwhile, Mr Netanyahu said Israel would send an envoy to talks with Lebanese diplomatic and economic officials, marking an “initial attempt to create a basis for relations and economic co-operation” between the two countries. Other participants in the talks are from the US, France and the UN peacekeeping force known as UNIFIL.

Israel and Lebanon have been in a state of war since 1948. Israel and Lebanese militant group Hezbollah fought a months-long war that ended in a shaky ceasefire one year ago.