File Photo: The flag of Egypt sways in the wind on the Egyptian side of the Rafah Border Crossing with the Gaza Strip. AFP
The source clarified that if an agreement is reached to open the crossing, movement through Rafah would occur in both directions, into and out of Gaza, following the provisions of US President Donald Trump’s plan.
The SIS statement comes shortly after a Reuters report said the Rafah Crossing is expected to reopen “within days” to allow Palestinians to exit the Gaza Strip into Egypt, quotaing the Israeli body responsible for Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT).
According to Reuters, Israel said the reopening will apply only to Gaza residents wishing to leave the territoy and will not permit returnees or inbound movement, meaning the crossing will not resume full two-way operations.
It added that the arrangement is being coordinated with Egypt and overseen by European Union monitoring teams, who have been preparing to redeploy to the terminal under the terms of the current ceasefire framework.
The Rafah Crossing, Gaza’s primary civilian gateway to the outside world, has remained shut from the Palestinian side since the Israeli offensive expanded into southern Gaza earlier this year, with Israel displacing hundreds of thousands and severely restricting humanitarian access.
Although Egypt has kept the crossing technically open from its side, Israeli occupation army control over the Palestinian terminal has prevented normal operations.
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