DaysofPal – Despite a two-week-old ceasefire agreement, Israel has postponed the reopening of the Rafah crossing, Gaza’s main gateway to the outside world, indefinitely, conditioning the move on Hamas’s handover of the bodies of Israeli captives.
The Israeli government announced late Saturday that the reopening would remain on hold “until further notice.” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement on X that the decision would depend on “how Hamas fulfills its obligations regarding the return of the bodies of the detainees and the implementation of the terms of the agreed-upon agreement.”
The Rafah crossing, situated on Gaza’s southern border with Egypt, has long served as the primary channel for humanitarian aid, medical evacuations, and limited civilian movement.
Its closure has deepened the humanitarian crisis in the war-torn enclave, where hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians depend on cross-border aid deliveries.
The Israeli army continues to control the Palestinian side of the crossing, blocking its return to normal operations or its transfer to the Palestinian Authority. Observers in Gaza view the move as both a political and military tactic by Israel to gain leverage in ongoing ceasefire and post-war negotiations.
The crossing was initially slated to reopen last Wednesday as part of the first phase of the ceasefire deal that took effect on October 10. The Palestinian embassy in Cairo later announced that it would reopen next Monday to allow stranded Palestinians to return to Gaza.
However, Netanyahu’s latest decision contradicts earlier comments by Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, who said on Thursday that the crossing would likely reopen early this week.
U.S. President Donald Trump, who mediated the ceasefire agreement, warned that he might allow Israel to resume its military operations in Gaza if Hamas failed to meet its obligations.
Since the ceasefire began, Israel has allowed just 653 aid trucks into Gaza, according to Ismail Thawabta, director of the government media office in Gaza, far below the 600 trucks per day agreed upon in the truce terms.
On Sunday, 173 trucks carrying aid, including fuel and cooking gas, were allowed in. None entered on Monday or Tuesday, while 480 trucks crossed on Wednesday.
A United Nations official described conditions in Gaza as “catastrophic,” citing the near-total collapse of the health system. “Almost all hospitals are destroyed or severely damaged, and people are suffering from extreme shortages of food, medicine, and shelter,” the official said.
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