Israel to reopen Rafah crossing for humanitarian aid delivery to Gaza

Israel will allow the Rafah crossing in Gaza to open on October 15 to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid from Egypt to the Palestinian territory, KAN television reported.

“Six hundred truckloads of humanitarian aid will be sent (Wednesday) to the Gaza Strip by the UN, approved international organisations, the private sector and donor countries,” the broadcaster stated on its website, without citing sources.

KAN noted that the decision to open the southern Rafah crossing was made by a “political echelon” and followed the transfer of the remains of four additional hostages to Hamas late Tuesday night, in line with a ceasefire agreement that came into effect on October 17.

Under the truce, brokered by U.S. President Donald Trump, Hamas was required to hand over all hostages — both living and deceased — within 72 hours of the agreement taking effect. 

While Palestinian militants released all 20 live hostages on time, by the evening of October 14, they had returned to Israel the remains of only eight of the 28 deceased hostages held in Gaza.

KAN reported that Israel’s decision to reopen Rafah for humanitarian aid also followed notification from Hamas of its plan to return four more bodies on October 15, although this has not yet been independently confirmed by the militant group.

By Tamilla Hasanova