Israel says it will reopen the Rafah crossing this Sunday

BarcelonaIsrael will reopen the Rafah border crossing this Sunday, allowing passage between Egypt and Gaza "in both directions, with limited traffic," the Israeli government agency COGAT, which coordinates civilian policy in Gaza, announced Friday. This border crossing is the only entry and exit point for almost all of Gaza's more than 2 million residents.

"The return of Egyptian residents to the Gaza Strip will be permitted, in coordination with Egypt, only for residents who left Gaza during the course of the war, and only after prior security authorization from Israel," reads a statement from the Israeli entity, specifying a mechanism similar to the one implemented in January 2025.

Israel took control of Rafah in May 2024, about nine months after the start of the Gaza war, and has since blocked the passage of humanitarian aid to pressure Hamas. Reopening the border was an important requirement in the first phase of US President Donald Trump's plan to halt fighting in accordance with the ceasefire agreed upon in October. But until now, it had been delayed because Israel had conditioned the move on the recovery of the body of the last Israeli hostage in Gaza, which occurred this week.

The return to Gaza of Palestinians in Egypt will take place "only after authorization from The "security of Israel" has humanitarian groups fearing that reopening the crossing will serve as a pretext for Israel to further depopulate the Gaza Strip. NGOs have long been calling for the crossing to be reopened, as it is essential for the 16,500 sick and wounded who require urgent medical attention—according to World Health Organization data—to leave the enclave.