The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) announced Wednesday that, in accordance with the ceasefire agreement and the instruction of the political echelon, the Rafah crossing will open in the coming days solely for residents to leave the Gaza Strip for Egypt.
The departure of residents through the Rafah crossing will be possible via coordination with Egypt, pending approval by Israeli security officials and under the supervision of the European Union delegation, similar to a mechanism that was used in January 2025.
The political echelon's instruction comes even though not all the hostages have been recovered from the Gaza Strip under the Trump deal. Sergeant First Class Ran Gvili and Sudthisak Rinthalak are the last two deceased hostages remaining in captivity. Concurrently, the Red Cross is conducting search and excavation operations in the Jabalia area for deceased hostages.
