The Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt will reopen Monday for people returning to Gaza, the Palestinian Embassy in Egypt said Saturday, but the territory’s sole gateway to the outside world will remain closed to people trying to leave.
But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office issued a statement within minutes, saying that the Rafah crossing wouldn’t reopen “until further notice,” adding that it would depend on how Hamas fulfils its role in returning all the bodies of the dead hostages.
Israel’s Foreign Affairs Ministry on Thursday had said that the crossing would likely reopen Sunday — another step in the fragile ceasefire.
The Rafah crossing is the only one not controlled by Israel before the war. It has been closed since May 2024, when Israel took control of the Gaza side.
A fully reopened crossing would make it easier for Gazans to seek medical treatment, travel or visit family in Egypt, home to tens of thousands of Palestinians. It’s unclear who will operate the crossing’s heavily damaged Gaza side once the war ends.
Israel is restricting aid into Gaza saying Hamas has not lived up to terms of the ceasefire because bodies of some hostages remain in Gaza. Hamas says it needs help extracting bodies under rubble, while aid groups say that even under the ceasefire, not enough critical supplies are getting to Gaza City.
Meanwhile, Gaza’s ruins were being scoured for the dead, more than a week into the ceasefire. Newly recovered bodies brought the Palestinian toll above 68,000, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. Thousands of people are still missing, according to the Red Cross.
The ministry, part of the Hamas-run government, doesn’t distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count.
But the ministry maintains detailed casualty records that are seen as generally reliable by United Nations agencies and independent experts. Israel has disputed them without providing its own toll.
Hamas-led militants killed about 1,200 people and abducted 251, according to Israeli tallies, in the attack on southern Israel that sparked the war on Oct. 7, 2023.
Hostages’ remains
Israel on Saturday said the remains of a 10th hostage that Hamas handed over the day before were identified as Eliyahu Margalit.
The handover of 28 hostages’ remains is among key points — along with aid deliveries into Gaza and the devastated territory’s future — in the ceasefire process meant to end two years of war.
The 76-year-old Margalit was abducted from kibbutz Nir Oz during the Oct. 7 attack. His remains were found after bulldozers plowed up pits in the southern city of Khan Younis.
It was a sombre day in Israel as more funerals took place for some hostages whose remains were repatriated from Gaza earlier this week. Israel is demanding that Hamas return the bodies of the 19 hostages it has not yet handed over, with Hamas saying it requires heavy machinery to access them. In total, nine bodies of hostages have been returned.
U.S. President Donald Trump has warned that he would greenlight a resumption of the war by Israel, if Hamas doesn’t return the remains of all dead hostages.
Hamas has said it is committed to the ceasefire deal but that the retrieval of remains is hampered by the devastation and the presence of unexploded ordnance. The group has told mediators that some remains are in areas controlled by Israeli troops.
In a statement, the hostage forum that supports the families of those abducted said it will continue holding weekly rallies until all are returned.
As part of the ceasefire agreement, Israel on Saturday returned the bodies of a further 15 Palestinians to Gaza. Gaza’s Health Ministry said the International Committee of the Red Cross handed them over to Nasser Hospital, bringing the total Israel has returned to 135.
Hamas accuses Israel of violations
Hamas again accused Israel of continuing attacks and violating the ceasefire, asserting that 38 Palestinians had been killed since it began. There was no immediate response from Israel, which still maintains control of about half of Gaza.
On Friday, Gaza’s Civil Defence, first responders operating under the Hamas-run Interior Ministry, said nine people were killed, including women and children, when their vehicle was hit by Israeli fire in Gaza City. The Civil Defence said the car crossed into an Israeli-controlled area in eastern Gaza.
The Civil Defence said Israel could have warned the people in a manner that wasn’t lethal. The group recovered the bodies on Saturday with co-ordination from the UN, it said.
Israel’s army said it saw a “suspicious vehicle” crossing the so-called yellow line and approaching troops. It said it fired warning shots, but the vehicle continued to approach in a manner that posed an “imminent threat.” The army said it acted in accordance with the ceasefire.
Aid demands
Hamas has urged mediators to increase the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza for its two million people, expedite the full opening of the Rafah border crossing and start reconstruction of the battered territory.
There are continued closures of crossings and Israeli restrictions on aid groups. UN data on Friday showed 339 trucks have been offloaded for distribution in Gaza since the ceasefire began. Under the agreement, about 600 aid trucks per day should be allowed to enter.
COGAT, the Israeli defence body overseeing aid in Gaza, reported 950 trucks — including commercial trucks and bilateral deliveries — crossing on Thursday and 716 on Wednesday, the UN said.
Palestinians are struggling to receive aid in Gaza even after the first phase of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas takes effect. CBC’s Briar Stewart explains why trucks of aid are still stuck at the enclave’s borders.
Throughout the war, Israel restricted aid to Gaza, sometimes halting it altogether.
International food security experts declared famine in Gaza City, and the UN says it has verified more than 400 people who died of malnutrition-related causes, including more than 100 children.
Israel has long said it let in enough food and accused Hamas of stealing it. The UN and other aid agencies deny the claim.
