JERUSALEM (AP) – Israel announced Friday it will reopen its pedestrian malls. crossing the border between Gaza Strip This is a significant step forward for US President Donald Trump’s Gaza ceasefire plan.
COGAT, the Israeli military agency responsible for coordinating aid to gazasaid in a statement that from Sunday “only limited movement of people” will be allowed through the Rafah crossing, Gaza’s main gateway to the outside world.
The announcement was made following a statement by the Israeli Prime Minister Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Ali Shaasthe newly appointed head of the Palestinian Executive Committee that manages day-to-day operations in Gaza, said it was likely to open soon.
It remains unclear how the crossing will operate after nearly two years of closure.
COGAT announced on Sunday that the corridor would open in both directions, but Shas said the first day would be a test run and that operations in both directions would begin on Monday.
COGAT announced that both Israel and Egypt plan to screen individuals entering and leaving intersections. european union Border patrol agent. In addition to the checks at the crossings, Palestinians entering and exiting the country are also searched by Israel at adjacent corridors, which are under Israeli military control.
The border has been almost completely closed since Israel occupied it in May 2024, saying it was part of a strategy to stop Hamas from smuggling arms across the border. It was briefly opened for the evacuation of medical patients during a brief ceasefire in early 2025.
Israel had resisted reopening the crossing, but the recovery of the ruins Last hostage in Gaza On Monday, the path forward was clear. The next day, Prime Minister Netanyahu said the intersection would soon open to traffic in a limited and controlled manner.
Thousands of Palestinians in Gaza are leaving the war-torn territory, while tens of thousands who fled the territory during the heaviest fighting say they want to return home.
An Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with policy, told The Associated Press that dozens of Palestinians would be allowed through either route, initially starting with medical evacuees and Palestinians displaced during the war.
Gaza’s medical system has been destroyed by the war, leaving people without access to advanced surgical procedures. According to the Gaza Strip’s Ministry of Health, about 20,000 injured and sick Palestinians are in need of medical treatment on the outskirts of Gaza. Until now, priority evacuation targets have primarily been children, cancer patients, and people with physical trauma.
The restart is one of the first steps in the second phase of last year’s U.S.-brokered cease-fire agreement, which includes difficult issues ranging from demilitarizing Gaza to establishing an alternative government to oversee the rebuilding of the largely destroyed enclave.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said this week that Israel’s focus was on disarming Hamas and destroying its remaining tunnels. Without these measures, there will be no reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, and Israeli control of Rafah could become an important lever, he said.
More deadly attacks in Gaza
On Friday, Palestinians in Gaza mourned friends and relatives killed in an Israeli attack earlier this week. The attacks slowed but did not stop after the remains of the last hostage held in the Gaza Strip were returned.
Three Palestinians were buried with a traditional Islamic funeral. Men gathered to pay their last respects, carrying the wrapped body through the streets before praying for his soul.
The Israeli military said on Friday that four people were killed in an airstrike in central Gaza, saying they were armed and approaching nearby troops. ceasefire line It separates the Israeli-occupied territories from the majority of the Palestinian population in Gaza.
The latest death toll on Friday exceeds the 492 Palestinians killed since the ceasefire began in October, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its figures. Detailed casualty records are kept that are generally considered reliable by United Nations agencies and independent experts.
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Associated Press writer Toka Ezzidine in Cairo contributed to this report.
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