**Rafah Border Crossing Between Gaza and Egypt to Remain Closed Amid Ongoing Dispute**

*CAIRO/JERUSALEM* — The Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt will remain closed until further notice, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced today. He added that its reopening will depend on Hamas handing over the bodies of deceased hostages, as tensions continue between the two sides over alleged ceasefire violations.

Netanyahu’s statement came shortly after the Palestinian embassy in Egypt announced that the Rafah crossing—the main passageway for Gazans to enter and leave the enclave—would reopen on Monday for entry into Gaza.

Both Netanyahu’s government and Hamas have been trading blame over breaches of the U.S.-mediated ceasefire for several days. Late today in Washington, the U.S. State Department reported receiving “credible reports” that Hamas might violate the ceasefire agreement. The department stated, “Should Hamas proceed with this attack, measures will be taken to protect the people of Gaza and preserve the integrity of the ceasefire,” without providing further details.

Former President Donald Trump had previously indicated that he would consider allowing Israeli forces to resume combat operations in Gaza if Hamas fails to uphold its part of the ceasefire deal, which he helped broker.

Neither the State Department nor Hamas immediately responded to requests for additional comments.

In a statement released late today, Hamas condemned Netanyahu’s decision, labeling it a “blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement and a repudiation of the commitments he made to the mediators and guarantor parties.” Hamas further warned that the continued closure of the Rafah crossing would block essential equipment needed to search for and recover more hostage bodies trapped under the rubble. This, they claimed, would delay the recovery and handover process.

Israel reported receiving two more bodies late today, bringing the total to 12 out of the 28 bodies handed over under the U.S.-brokered ceasefire and hostage exchange agreement reached last week.

The ongoing conflict has triggered a humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, with nearly all residents displaced from their homes. A global hunger monitor has confirmed the onset of famine, and local health authorities are overwhelmed by the scale of the crisis.

The dispute over the return of bodies and the shipment of life-saving humanitarian aid highlights the fragility of the ceasefire. It also poses a serious risk to the delicate deal, alongside other major issues encompassed in President Donald Trump’s comprehensive 20-point plan aimed at ending the war.

As part of the agreement, Hamas released all 20 living Israeli hostages it had held for two years, in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian detainees and convicted prisoners jailed in Israel. However, Israel accuses Hamas of moving too slowly in handing over the bodies of deceased hostages still in their possession. Hamas, for its part, insists that locating some of the bodies amid the vast destruction in Gaza will require time.

Under the terms of the deal, Israel is to return 360 bodies of Palestinian militants in exchange for the deceased Israeli hostages. So far, Israel has handed over 15 Palestinian bodies for each Israeli body received.

The Rafah crossing has been mostly closed since May 2024.

The ceasefire agreement also includes plans to increase aid into Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of people were identified as at risk of famine in August, according to the IPC global hunger monitor. After Israel cut off all supplies for 11 weeks beginning in March, aid shipments into Gaza resumed in July and have since been scaled up following the truce.

Since the U.S.-brokered ceasefire, an average of around 560 metric tons of food has entered Gaza daily. However, this remains significantly below the scale of humanitarian need, as reported by the United Nations World Food Program.

Despite progress, formidable obstacles to Trump’s plan to end the war remain. Critical issues such as Hamas disarmament, the governance of Gaza, the composition of an international “stabilization force,” and steps toward establishing a Palestinian state have yet to be resolved.
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