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Israel will reopen the Rafah border crossing on Sunday to allow people to travel between Gaza and Egypt, a government agency announced, the first effective opening of the only route into or out of the Palestinian territory since May 2024.
COGAT, the Israeli government agency that coordinates civilian policy in Gaza, did not specify how many of Gaza’s approximately two million residents would be allowed to cross the border each day.
“The return of Egyptian residents to the Gaza Strip will be permitted, in coordination with Egypt, for residents who left Gaza during the war only, and only after prior security clearance from Israel,” COGAT said.
Israel seized the border crossing in May 2024, about nine months after the start of the Gaza war. Its reopening was an important demand under the first phase of US President Donald Trump’s plan to end fighting between Israel and Hamas militants, which followed a ceasefire agreed in October.
Israel had said it would only reopen it after recovering the body of the last Israeli hostage in Gaza this week.
Reuters previously reported that Israel wanted to limit the number of Palestinians entering Gaza through the border crossing with Egypt to ensure that more Palestinians are allowed out than in. Egypt did not accept this.
Despite a ceasefire, Israeli airstrikes continue to hit Gaza. Last week, separate strikes killed more than 10 people, including three journalists, according to Palestinian health officials.
A source familiar with the matter said the crossing would open despite ongoing discussions between Egypt and Israel on the issue, saying Israel wanted to allow around 150 people to return each day.
This opening will only allow the passage of people, although Gaza continues to need vital aid which humanitarian organizations say is being blocked by Israeli restrictions.
“Many people in Gaza are still living in rubble, without basic services, struggling to stay warm in harsh winter conditions,” International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) President Mirjana Spoljaric said in a statement on Friday.
She called for an easing of restrictions on “dual-use” items like water pipes and generators, “which are essential to restoring the critical infrastructure that people depend on.”
Under a policy long predating Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel and the subsequent Gaza war, Israel inspects trucks bound for the Palestinian enclave to stop any items it considers to have potential dual use — civilian or military.
Gaza has been devastated by Israel’s two-year offensive, which has left most of the strip in ruins and displaced almost the entire population.
Israel launched its air and ground war in Gaza after a cross-border attack by Hamas on October 7, 2023, which killed around 1,200 people, according to Israeli counts.
The Israeli offensive has since killed more than 71,400 Palestinians, including more than 490 by Israeli fire since October 10, 2025, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
