<\/p>\n
Israel was partially reopening the Rafah crossing between the devastated Gaza Strip and Egypt on Sunday following months of urging from humanitarian organisations, though access is limited to the movement of people.<\/p>\n
COGAT, the Israeli defence ministry body coordinating Palestinian civilian affairs, made no mention of allowing in a long hoped-for surge of aid, and clarified that the passage of individuals through the gateway in both directions was expected to begin Monday.<\/p>\n
Rafah is considered a key entry point for supplies into the devastated Palestinian territory, where humanitarian conditions remain dire after two years of war in spite of a ceasefire in place since October 10.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The crossing has been closed since Israeli forces seized control of it in May 2024 during the war with Hamas, aside from a brief and limited reopening in early 2025.<\/p>\n
COGAT said Sunday that the \u201cRafah Crossing was opened today for the limited passage of residents only\u201d, but later added that the \u201cmovement of residents in both directions, entry and exit to and from Gaza, is expected to begin tomorrow\u201d.<\/p>\n
An official at Gaza\u2019s health ministry, which operates under Hamas authority, said that about 200 patients were waiting to be permitted to leave the territory once the crossing opened.<\/p>\n
AFP footage showed a queue of ambulances entering the crossing from the Egyptian side, though sources said none had been allowed into Gaza so far.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe opening of Rafah opens a small door of hope for patients, students and people in Gaza,\u201d Amin Al-Hilu, 53, who lives in a tent in the territory\u2019s Al-Shati camp, told AFP.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need the crossing to fully open for travel and bringing in goods without Israeli restrictions, and this I think will require major pressure on Israel.\u201d<\/p>\n
A Palestinian official told AFP on condition of anonymity that a group of \u201caround 40 Palestinians affiliated with the Palestinian Authority has arrived on the Egyptian side of the crossing\u201d and was also waiting to be allowed in.<\/p>\n
Israel had previously said it would not reopen the crossing until the body of Ran Gvili \u2014 the last Israeli hostage held in Gaza \u2014 was returned.<\/p>\n
His remains were recovered days ago and he was laid to rest in Israel on Wednesday, with COGAT announcing the reopening two days later.<\/p>\n
COGAT described Sunday\u2019s reopening as \u201can initial pilot phase\u201d, coordinated with the EU, adding the parties were carrying out \u201cpreliminary preparations aimed at increasing readiness for full operation of the crossing\u201d.<\/p>\n
No agreement has yet been reached on the number of Palestinians permitted to enter or exit, sources said, noting that Egypt plans to admit \u201call Palestinians whom Israel authorises to leave\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy generation and I deserve a chance at life and to build a future,\u201d said Adam Awad, 19, who was waiting to travel through the Rafah crossing to join a civil engineering programme at a university in Turkey.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are still living in fear and anxiety, without shelter, water or electricity.\u201d<\/p>\n
Located on Gaza\u2019s southern border with Egypt, Rafah is the only crossing into and out of the territory that does not pass through Israel.<\/p>\n
It lies in an area held by Israeli forces following their withdrawal behind the so-called \u201cYellow Line\u201d under the terms of the US-brokered ceasefire.<\/p>\n
Israeli troops still control more than half of Gaza, while the rest remains under Hamas authority.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe call on the mediators and guarantor states of the (ceasefire) agreement to monitor the occupation\u2019s behaviour at the Rafah crossing to prevent Gaza from facing a new Israeli siege,\u201d Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said in a statement.<\/p>\n
The reopening is expected to facilitate the entry of a 15-member Palestinian technocratic body, the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), established under the ceasefire agreement to oversee the day-to-day governance of the territory\u2019s 2.2 million residents.<\/p>\n
However, the NCAG, headed by former Palestinian Authority deputy minister Ali Shaath, was not expected to enter on Sunday, a member of the committee said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe head of the committee was informed that Israel had approved the entry of the members into Gaza but has not yet set a date,\u201d he told AFP, urging mediators \u201cto accelerate operations at the crossing and increase the number of travellers\u201d.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Israel\u2019s Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism said Sunday that it had decided to terminate the work of medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in Gaza by February 28 over its \u201cfailure to submit lists of local employees, a requirement applicable to all humanitarian organisations\u201d.<\/p>\n
MSF said it decided not to give the list after it did not receive assurances from the Israeli side that the information would not \u201cput colleagues at risk\u201d.<\/p>\n
The group says 15 of its employees have been killed over the course of the war.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
Rephrase in a different way as if you were a native American speaker as a content creation expert and do not talk about yourself or your experience in the text and do not show yourself as an artificial intelligence who wrote and fill the bullet point in the topic and speak the heart of the topic itself and dont take date of blog in ther first and dont take text like box of newsliter subscribe on post from content and romove all linke insert in content and and remove all affiliate disclosure phrases on content like this “This post may contain Amazon or other affiliate links that allow us to earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Please see our Disclosure Policy for more info” and “#” put in its place bullet point, and romove name of the web site or his links we are take a content from our new creation<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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