The Palestinian Embassy in Cairo said the Rafah crossing will reopen Monday for Palestinians returning to Gaza, but Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s office insists it will only open once Hamas hands over the bodies of deceased hostages.
In a statement, the embassy said on Saturday “The Rafah border crossing will open starting Monday to enable Palestinians residing in Egypt who wish to return to Gaza to travel, according to the established coordination mechanism.”
The embassy also urged Palestinian citizens in Egypt who wish to return to register their information through the designated online application, noting that they will later be informed of the dates and assembly points before moving toward the Rafah crossing, without giving further details.
Handing over bodies of hostages
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday that the Rafah crossing would reopen only after Hamas hands over the bodies of all deceased hostages in Gaza.
"Prime Minister Netanyahu has directed that the Rafah crossing remain closed until further notice," the statement read. "Its reopening will be considered based on how Hamas fulfils its obligations to return the hostages and the bodies of the deceased, and to implement the agreed-upon terms" of the ceasefire, the office added.
Hamas released 20 living Israeli hostages and handed over the remains of 11 more hostages in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners under the ceasefire agreement.
The deal was reached between Israel and Hamas last week, based on a plan presented by US President Donald Trump.
Phase one included the release of Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. The plan also envisages the rebuilding of Gaza and the establishment of a new governing mechanism without Hamas.
Since October 2023, the Israeli genocidal war has killed 68,116 people and injured 170,200 others, the Gaza Health Ministry said on Saturday.
