Israel says the crucial Rafah crossing with Egypt will open in the coming days – but only for Palestinians to leave Gaza.
Israel said it received the body of a captive from Gaza through the International Committee of the Red Cross and added it will begin allowing Palestinians to leave through a border crossing with Egypt – but not return.
The announcements follow statements from the armed wings of Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad saying they would hand over the body at 5pm (15:00 GMT) on Wednesday after it was recovered in northern Gaza.
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“The coffin will then be transferred to Israel, to the Health Ministry National Center of Forensic Medicine. Upon completion of the identification process and as per the findings, formal notification will be delivered to the family,” the Israeli military said in a post on X.
This comes a day after Israel said remains previously transferred by Hamas were not linked to any of the bodies of captives still held in the Gaza Strip.
The handover of remains forms part of a United States-brokered plan aimed at ending Israel’s genocidal war on the Palestinian people in Gaza. A fragile ceasefire continues to hold despite persistent Israeli killings across the enclave.
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 Organization 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.
Israel says Palestinians will not be able to return to Gaza through the crossing until the last captive remains are returned from Gaza. Egypt, which controls the other side, said the crossing will open only if movement goes both ways.
Twenty living abductees and the remains of 26 others have been returned to Israel since the ceasefire began in early October. Two bodies still in Gaza are those of Ran Gvili, an Israeli police officer, and Thai national Sudthisak Rinthalak, a farm labourer.
Israel’s statement has raised fears it could lead to the permanent displacement of Palestinians, something far-right ministers in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s hardline government have promoted for months.
‘Israeli manoeuvring’
Egypt’s State Information Service, citing an unnamed official, rejected the claim, saying Cairo has not agreed to any plan to open the crossing for outbound movement only.
Any agreement with Israel, the official said, would require opening Rafah in both directions in line with the current ceasefire plan. The source denied coordination with Israel over the reopening.
Hussein Haridy, a former Egyptian assistant foreign minister, said Egypt remains “committed to UN Security Council Resolution 2803, adopted on October 17 last year, which endorsed a ceasefire plan”.
All crossings should be opened under the resolution, and Egypt is working with the European Union and the Palestinian Authority on operating the posts, including Rafah, when conditions allow, he told media from Cairo.
“We need to operate the Rafah crossing according to the [US President Donald] Trump peace plan. Ever since 1948, the date Israel was established, we’ve become accustomed to Israeli manoeuvring when it comes to implementing ceasefire agreements,” said Haridy.
“Having said that, we will take Israel to task if they don’t implement the Security Council resolution.”
Reporting from Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, media’s Nour Odeh said Israel’s announcement reflects a pattern of “drip-dropping” its obligations under the ceasefire agreement.
Odeh said Israel intends to maintain a veto on who can exit, including medical cases, and is not allowing thousands of Palestinians who have registered to return to Gaza to do so.
Gaza’s Health Ministry and the Government Media Office say Israeli forces have killed 357 Palestinians in the first 50 days of the truce.
Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 70,117 Palestinians and wounded 170,999 since October 2023. A total of 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attacks, and about 200 were taken captive.
