Israel says it will open the Rafah crossing in the coming days so Palestinians can leave Gaza

BarcelonaIsrael could open the Rafah crossing, which links Gaza to Egypt, in the coming days, allowing authorized Palestinian citizens to leave the enclave. The departures would be "facilitated through coordination with Egypt, following Israeli security approval and under the supervision of the European Union mission," according to the Israeli agency that coordinates its activities in the West Bank and Gaza. However, Israel has made it clear that this is conditional on the release of the bodies of all hostages, and Egypt has denied coordinating with Tel Aviv to reopen the Rafah crossing.

This border crossing, through which humanitarian aid should be entering, It should have been opened in compliance with the ceasefire agreement. The agreement, which came into effect in October, has remained closed under the pretext of Hamas's delays in handing over the bodies of hostages. Since then, Palestinian authorities have recorded 591 violations of the agreement, resulting in 357 deaths and more than 900 injuries. But now Tel Aviv might reconsider reopening it to lend credibility to its commitment to the pact brokered by Donald Trump, coinciding with the handover of the remains of the last hostage. This Wednesday, Hamas announced that it had handed over the remains of a hostage to the Red Cross, a fact confirmed shortly afterward by the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Pending confirmation of his identity by Israeli authorities, this would be the penultimate of the deceased hostages remaining in the Gaza Strip: Israeli soldier Ran Gvili and Thai national Sudthisak Rinthalak. The announcement regarding the reopening of the crossing also comes just hours after Israel's national forensic institute revealed that the remains they received from Hamas on Tuesday did not match any Israeli killed in Gaza, although the Islamist organization maintains they belong to a hostage.

A key step for the future governance of Gaza

The opening of the crossing was reportedly facilitated by the US Civil-Military Coordination Center in Kiryat Gat, southern Israel. This was stated in a press release from the US State Department that was published on X and deleted a few hours later. This agency was created in October 2025 as part of the peace agreement. According to the press release, "Gaza's most vulnerable residents will now have greater and expedited access to lifesaving medical care outside of Gaza."

Once the body exchange is complete—Israel must return 15 bodies of Palestinian prisoners for each hostage—negotiations between Hamas and Israel are expected to resume to address the second phase of the agreement, which includes the complete withdrawal of Israeli troops and the disarmament of the the reconstruction of Gaza and its future governance. Regarding this last point, US diplomatic funds are confirmed in the newspaper. Haaretz Washington will establish the composition of the committee that will temporarily administer Gaza within two weeks, as well as the composition of the peace board that will oversee it, as part of the transition to the second phase of Trump's peace plan. Meanwhile, Benjamin Netanyahu vehemently condemned an alleged attack on Rafah in which four Israeli soldiers were reportedly wounded. The troops were in an area controlled by Israel when they were surprised by "several terrorists who emerged from a clandestine terrorist infrastructure," according to the army statement. Clashes then reportedly ensued, resulting in four men being wounded, one of them seriously. The prime minister accused Hamas of continuing to violate the ceasefire and of carrying out "terrorist acts" against his ranks. "Our policy is clear: Israel will not tolerate harm to soldiers and will respond accordingly," he warned. The situation in Rafah is complicated. Several militants remain entrenched in tunnels, in the middle of an area controlled by Israeli troops. While Netanyahu remains firm that it is necessary to "capture or eliminate them," Hamas has asked the mediators for a solution so that these men can move to the other side of the Yellow Line.