Israel prepares to reopen Rafah border crossing to allow aid into Gaza

2025-10-15 18:52:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

The only border crossing between Gaza and Egypt is expected to open to allow hundreds of trucks carrying much-needed aid into the devastated Palestinian territory.

Aid agencies said Wednesday they hoped for a surge in humanitarian aid, especially in northern Gaza, where more than 300,000 displaced people have returned in recent days. Thousands of tons of aid, including food and medical supplies, have been loaded onto trucks waiting in Egypt or are being stockpiled elsewhere in the region, according to aid officials.

At least 400 trucks carrying aid were heading toward Gaza, the Egyptian Red Crescent said Wednesday afternoon, but it was not clear how long it would take for the convoys to complete border formalities and enter the territory.

The fragile ceasefire in Gaza faced its first test on Tuesday when Israel accused Hamas of failing to fulfill a deal signed last week by delaying the return of hostages. In retaliation, Israel said it would cut the number of trucks it would allow into Gaza to 300, half the total agreed upon in the ceasefire deal, and indefinitely postpone the opening of the Rafah border crossing.

Hours later, Hamas handed over the remains of three more hostages to the Red Cross, bringing the number of bodies handed over since the U.S.-brokered ceasefire took effect to eight and leaving 21 more to be found. The militant Islamist group said the delays were due to difficulties in finding burial sites amid the rubble left by the two-year conflict. A fourth body transferred by Hamas was found not to be that of a hostage.

According to Kan, Israel's public broadcaster, the decision to reopen Rafah came after Israel was informed of Hamas's intention to return four more bodies on Wednesday, a move that has not yet been confirmed by the group.

Kan also reported that heavy equipment needed to repair damaged infrastructure would be allowed into Gaza, and Palestinians who had left the territory during the war would be allowed to return for the first time. Others would be allowed to leave through the Rafah crossing, subject to Israeli security approval.

Palestinians awaiting medical evacuation said they had not yet received notification from the World Health Organization to prepare for the trip.

Amjad al-Shawa, director of the Palestinian NGO Network based in Gaza City, said the needs in what was once the territory's vibrant commercial and cultural center were "tremendous."

“People have this optimism and hope, but there needs to be rapid improvement in the crossings. We haven’t seen any significant change on the ground yet. We are still receiving a very limited amount of aid and we are just beginning to understand the level of destruction. So many streets are full of rubble... There are almost no safe houses. There is damage and unexploded bombs everywhere,” Shawa said.

Rafah has been closed since it was occupied by Israeli forces in May 2024, limiting access to Gaza from Israel. Israel has repeatedly blocked aid from entering Gaza during the conflict, prompting accusations that it has used starvation as a weapon of war. A famine was declared in parts of the territory in August. The EU said on Wednesday it was ready to deploy a long-standing humanitarian mission, known as EUBam (EU Border Assistance Mission), to the Rafah border crossing if conditions on the ground improved.

Humanitarian officials in Gaza said on Wednesday that aid was urgently needed, with hundreds of thousands of people without clean water, food and other essentials and many others suffering greatly. Although aid was due to start arriving over the weekend, crossings from Israel were closed on Monday to allow the transfer of hostages and for Palestinian prisoners to reach Gaza, while Sunday was a national holiday in Israel./ CNA, translated by The Guardian