{"id":265828,"date":"2026-01-30T18:38:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-30T18:38:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/265828\/"},"modified":"2026-01-30T18:38:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-30T18:38:09","slug":"israel-confirms-gazas-rafah-crossing-will-reopen-sunday-in-both-directions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/265828\/","title":{"rendered":"Israel confirms Gaza’s Rafah Crossing will reopen Sunday in both directions"},"content":{"rendered":"

Israel will reopen the Rafah Crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt for pedestrian traffic in both directions at the start of next week, in accordance with the ceasefire deal, the Defense Ministry announced on Friday.<\/p>\n

\u201cExit from and entry into the Gaza Strip via the Rafah Crossing will be permitted in coordination with Egypt, following prior security clearance of individuals by Israel, and under the supervision of the European Union mission, similar to the mechanism implemented in January 2025,\u201d the ministry\u2019s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, or COGAT, said in a statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe return of residents from Egypt to the Gaza Strip will be permitted, in coordination with Egypt, for residents who left Gaza during the course of the war only, and only after prior security clearance by Israel,\u201d COGAT said. It added that in addition to initial identification and screening at the Rafah Crossing by the European Union mission, an additional screening and identification process will be conducted at a designated corridor, operated by the defense establishment in an area under IDF control.<\/p>\n

According to data from COGAT, some 42,000 Gazans left the Strip during the war, the vast majority of them patients seeking medical treatment abroad or dual citizens.<\/p>\n

This week, The Times of Israel reported<\/a> that all Gazan Palestinians seeking to enter or leave the Strip will be required to have Egyptian approval, and Egypt was to send the names to Israel\u2019s Shin Bet domestic security service for clearance.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tGet The Times of Israel’s Daily Edition
\n\t\t\tby email and never miss our top stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n

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Israeli officials said each name would be looked at individually, and if any top terror commanders seek to leave Gaza, they would be denied.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tPeople stand near tents housing displaced Palestinians in the al-Mawasi area of Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, on January 30, 2026. (Bashar Taleb\/AFP)<\/p>\n

A team of Palestinian Authority representatives and monitors from the European Union stationed at the crossing will be tasked with conducting security screenings at the crossing for those leaving the Strip.<\/p>\n

Israel will only supervise the exit of Gazans to Egypt remotely. From a control room, Israeli officers, using facial recognition software, will verify that those leaving the Strip are on the list of approved names, and open up a gate at the crossing to allow them through.<\/p>\n

The entry into Gaza from Egypt will, however, include an Israeli security screening, as those Palestinians will arrive at an IDF checkpoint after passing through the Rafah Crossing. Only afterward will they be permitted to continue toward the Hamas-controlled areas of Gaza.<\/p>\n

There are no plans to allow the crossing to be used for aid and goods, which go through other crossings where they are screened by Israel for contraband, especially weapons.<\/p>\n

In the years before the war, Hamas used the Rafah Crossing to bring in numerous weapons and other supplies into the Strip for its military wing, without any Israeli oversight, according to the IDF and security officials.<\/p>\n

The Israeli defense establishment is backing an idea for a tri-border crossing between Israel, Egypt and Gaza, where the current Kerem Shalom Crossing is located.<\/p>\n

Under the current ceasefire deal, 600 trucks on average of aid and goods enter the Strip every day, though Israeli security officials have said that this is well beyond the needs of Gazan residents, and that Hamas is taking advantage of the oversupply to rebuild itself.<\/p>\n

Israeli officials said that there is no real way to prevent the terror group from using the aid trucks for its own benefit, though more limited numbers of trucks \u2014 in line with what they say are the Strip\u2019s actual needs \u2014 would be easier for Israel to monitor.<\/p>\n

Attempts to smuggle contraband into Gaza using aid trucks are also expected to rise, security officials said, noting that Israel had so far mainly foiled attempts to bring in cigarettes and other tobacco products, as well as some prohibited agricultural products.<\/p>\n

There has been no known attempt to smuggle weapons into Gaza using the aid trucks, according to Israeli security officials.<\/p>\n

IDF kills terror operatives in 4 incidents<\/p>\n

The ceasefire between Israel and Hamas has remained fragile since its implementation in October.<\/p>\n

The IDF on Friday announced four separate incidents in which Hamas terror operatives were killed over the past day.<\/p>\n

On Thursday, the military said troops killed a Palestinian terror operative who crossed the Gaza ceasefire line in the Strip\u2019s south. According to the IDF, the operative crossed the Yellow Line and approached troops of the 7th Armored Brigade \u201cin a manner that posed an immediate threat.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tIDF troops operate at a cemetery in Gaza City during a search for the body of Master Sgt. Ran Gvili, in a handout photo issued on January 27, 2026. (Israel Defense Forces)<\/p>\n

The troops then opened fire and \u201celiminated the terrorist to remove the threat,\u201d the IDF said.<\/p>\n

Since the start of the ceasefire in October 2025, the IDF has said it has killed dozens of terror operatives and other suspects who have crossed the Yellow Line \u2014 demarcating the military\u2019s withdrawal in the Strip \u2014 and approached troops. Such incidents have taken place on a near-daily basis.<\/p>\n

Palestinian reports have alleged that many civilians have been killed during that time as well.<\/p>\n

Also on Thursday, the IDF confirmed carrying out an airstrike in the Maghazi camp area of central Gaza, saying it targeted a Hamas operative who planned to attack troops stationed in the Strip\u2019s south.<\/p>\n

The strike took place on the Hamas side of the ceasefire line, and according to Palestinian media, it killed at least two people.<\/p>\n

According to the military, the operative was planning an imminent attack against troops in southern Gaza.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe terrorist posed an immediate threat to IDF troops and was therefore targeted in a precise strike to remove the threat,\u201d the army said, adding that it took steps to mitigate civilian harm in the strike, including by using a precision munition, aerial surveillance and other intelligence.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, overnight in eastern Rafah in southern Gaza, the Israeli Air Force struck a group of eight terror operatives who emerged from a tunnel.<\/p>\n

Eastern Rafah is an area on the Israeli side of the ceasefire line where dozens of Hamas fighters were believed to be trapped underground. The IDF has reported killing or capturing more than 30 of them in recent months.<\/p>\n

The military said soldiers of the 414th Combat Intelligence Collection Unit spotted the eight operatives emerging from a tunnel, and the Israeli Air Force then carried out a strike against them.<\/p>\n

Three of the operatives were killed in the strike, the IDF said, and additional strikes were carried out in areas where the other five were believed to have fled to.<\/p>\n

The IDF said troops were on the ground searching the area for the operatives, and that the results of the strikes were still being examined.<\/p>\n

Also overnight in central Gaza, the military said four armed terror operatives who approached troops were killed in an airstrike.<\/p>\n

According to the IDF, troops of the Kfir Brigade stationed in the Strip\u2019s center spotted the gunmen on the Israeli side of the Yellow Line. The operatives were approaching the forces \u201cin a manner that posed an immediate threat,\u201d the military said. The Israeli Air Force then struck \u201cand eliminated the terrorists to remove the threat,\u201d the IDF added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Israel will reopen the Rafah Crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt for pedestrian traffic in both directions…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":265829,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[85,46,43],"class_list":{"0":"post-265828","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-israel","8":"tag-il","9":"tag-israel","10":"tag-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/265828","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=265828"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/265828\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/265829"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=265828"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=265828"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=265828"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}