Israel’s military aid agency COGAT stated on Thursday that it is working with Egypt to prepare the Rafah border crossing with Gaza for the movement of people, with the opening date to be announced later.
Israel had earlier warned it could keep Rafah shut and reduce aid into the Palestinian enclave as Hamas, it said, was returning the bodies of dead hostages too slowly, underlining the risks to a ceasefire that halted two years of devastating war and saw all living hostages held by Hamas released.
COGAT, the arm of the Israeli military that oversees aid flows into the Gaza Strip, said humanitarian aid continued to enter the territory via the Kerem Shalom crossing with Israel, and at other crossings.
“It should be emphasised that humanitarian aid will not pass through the Rafah crossing. This was never agreed upon at any stage,” COGAT added in a statement sent to Reuters.
Two sources had told Reuters on Wednesday that the Rafah crossing was expected to open for people on Thursday.
Ceasefire Violations
Israel said on Thursday traded blame with Hamas over violations of the U.S.-mediated ceasefire.
A row over the return of bodies of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza retains the potential to upend the truce, along with other major planks of the plan yet to be resolved, including disarmament of militants and Gaza’s future governance.
Israel demanded that Hamas fulfil its obligations in turning over the bodies of the 28 deceased hostages. The Islamist faction said it had handed over 10 bodies, but Israel said one of them was not that of a hostage.
“We will not compromise on this, and we will spare no effort until our fallen hostages return, every last one of them,” Israel’s government spokesperson said on Wednesday.
The armed wing of Hamas said the handover of more bodies in Gaza, which was reduced to vast tracts of rubble by the war, would require the admission of heavy machinery and excavating equipment into the Israel-blockaded Palestinian enclave.
On Thursday, a senior Hamas official accused Israel of flouting the ceasefire by having killed at least 24 people in shootings since Friday, and said a list of such violations was handed over to mediators.
“The occupying state is working day and night to undermine the agreement through its violations on the ground,” he said.
The Israeli military did not immediately respond to the Hamas accusations. It has previously said that some Palestinians have ignored warnings not to approach Israeli ceasefire positions and troops “opened fire to remove the threat”.
(With inputs from Reuters)
