dpa/ap | According to media reports, Israel continues to have reservations about the announced opening of the border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt. The so-called security cabinet wants to discuss the issue this Sunday. Earlier on Saturday evening, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with US envoy Steve Witkoff and US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner about the second phase of the Gaza peace plan spoken.
The Rafah border crossing, which has been closed for almost a year, is considered the Gaza Strip’s most important gateway to the world. Ali Shaath, Chairman of the new Palestinian government of experts on Gazahad announced the opening in both directions on Thursday. However, according to media reports, Israel is reluctant to open the crossing before the body of the last Israeli hostage in the Gaza Strip is handed over as agreed and continues to do so Attacks continue in the Gaza Strip. On Wednesday, three journalists were killed, including a freelancer for the AFP news agency.
Hundreds of Israelis demonstrated on Saturday evening for the repatriation of the remains of border police officer Ran Gvili. The then 24-year-old was killed in a Hamas terrorist attack on October 7, 2023. The Israeli government had emphasized that it would only enter the next phase of the US peace plan for Gaza once the policeman’s body had been returned to Israel.
Hamas denies responsibility
Ran Gwili’s family called for greater pressure on Hamas. “President Trump himself stated in Davos this week that Hamas knows exactly where our son is being held,” the family said on Saturday. “Hamas is deceiving the international community and refusing to return our son, the last remaining hostage – a clear violation of the signed agreement.”
Hamas said on Wednesday it had provided ceasefire brokers with “full information” about Gwili’s remains and accused Israel of obstructing search efforts in areas it controls in Gaza. On Saturday, Hamas said a delegation had met in Istanbul with the head of Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization for talks on the second phase of the ceasefire
According to a statement from his ministry on Saturday, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatti urged the immediate opening of the Rafah border crossing at the new so-called Peace Council for the Gaza Strip. He spoke on the phone with the Bulgarian diplomat Nikolai Mladenov, who, as the council representative, is supposed to monitor the implementation of Trump’s “peace plan” in the coastal area. They discussed the implementation of the second phase of the ceasefire – including the deployment of an international observer force, the opening of the Rafah border crossing in both directions and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip.
Abdelatti said the implementation of the second phase is a crucial step in the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip. The statement did not mention when Rafah would be opened to travelers and the evacuation of the sick and wounded.