Israel says Gaza’s Rafah crossing to stay closed despite Palestinian Embassy reopening claim

Gaza's Rafah border crossing to reopen on Monday, Palestinian embassy in Egypt says

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office stated that Gaza's Rafah crossing will remain closed until further notice, following an announcement by the Palestinian Embassy in Egypt that it would reopen on Monday.

"The crossing's opening will be considered based on the manner in which Hamas fulfills its part in returning the deceased hostages and implementing the agreed-upon framework," Netanyahu's office said on Saturday.

Earlier, the Palestinian embassy in Egypt announced that Gaza’s Rafah border crossing with Egypt will reopen on Monday, nearly a week after a US-brokered ceasefire and hostage deal between Israel and Hamas.

The Rafah crossing has been closed since May 2024. According to the Palestinian embassy, reopening would allow Palestinians residing in Egypt to return to Gaza, though it did not clarify whether humanitarian aid would also be permitted.

Since the U.S.-brokered halt to two years of war, about 560 metric tons of food have entered Gaza daily on average, still far below the needed scale, according to the U.N. World Food Program.

The Rafah crossing was closed after Israeli forces took control of Gaza’s side in May 2024, reopening briefly in early 2025 during a short-lived ceasefire. After two years of bombardment and blockade, the demand for food, medicine, shelter, and other aid is extreme. In March, Israel imposed an 11-week blockade of all aid, depleting stockpiles and raising prices.

In August, a global hunger monitor reported famine in northern Gaza City, though Israel dismissed the findings as false and biased. Gaza’s health authorities say over 400 people have died from malnutrition-related causes, while Israel claims the figures are exaggerated and many deaths had other causes.

Israel announced in late July that it would expand aid entry, but Gaza’s side of Rafah remained closed, forcing shipments through the Israeli Kerem Shalom crossing about 3 km south. Aid workers reported obstacles, including paperwork issues and short operating hours, limiting the amount of aid delivered. Israel denies restricting aid to the enclave.

(With agency inputs)