Middle East: Rafah border crossing still closed

The Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip remained closed on Thursday, despite Israel saying earlier that it would be opened on Wednesday.

"The date for the opening of the Rafah Crossing for the movement of people only will be announced at a later stage, once the Israeli side, together with the Egyptian side, completes the necessary preparations," said a spokesman for COGAT, the Israeli Defense Ministry agency tasked with providing logistical assistance to Palestinian territories.

Speaking to reporters in Naples, Italy, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar reportedly said he "hoped" the crossing would reopen on Sunday – a prediction echoed by Egyptian sources who spoke to the dpa news agency.

Once reopened, the crossing will be restricted to the movement of people only, not to humanitarian aid, which will continue to cross into Gaza following security checks at the Kerem Shalom, said the COGAT spokesman.

Following a partial withdrawal of Israeli troops to predetermined positions further away from the most heavily populated areas of Gaza, aid deliveries have been expanded in line with the ceasefire agreement, with around 600 trucks supposed to enter the enclave every day.

However, a nurse working with Doctors Without Borders (MSF) told Swiss radio on Thursday that deliveries were entering slowly.

"People continue to live in tents, without proper water and electricity supply," reported Katja Storck, adding that equipment for caring for patients, including wheelchairs, was lacking.

A United Nations team on Thursday called on Berlin to stop "criminalizing, punishing, and suppressing legitimate Palestinian solidarity activism."

"We are alarmed by the persistent pattern of police violence and apparent suppression of Palestine solidarity activism by Germany," the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) saidin a statement, urging Germany to uphold its human rights obligations.

The team said Berlin has expanded restrictions on Palestinian solidarity activism since October 2023 despite the "overall peaceful" nature of the protests.

What concerns did the UN team cite?

The team emphasized the legitimacy of the protesters' demands, listing them out as: "calling for halting arms exports to Israel, ending the genocide and the Israeli illegal occupation, ensuring humanitarian aid access to Gaza, the recognition of the state of Palestine, and accountability for those who have committed atrocity crimes."

The human rights office particularly expressed concern regarding the treatment of pro-Palestinian protesters who took to the streets this year to mark the second anniversary of the October 7 Hamas-led attack on Israel and subsequent Israeli war on Gaza, during which Israel has been accused of having committed genocide against Palestinians, according to an independent UN inquiry.  Israel rejects these accusations.

The UN team said the anniversary protests saw "arbitrary arrests, detentions, and police violence" which included "officers punching non-violent activists in the face."

They also cited reports of the Berlin police having imposed a last-minute ban on protests despite the absence of evidence-based justification.

The report said Berlin used broad justifications citing security, public safety, prevention of antisemitism, or banning support for terrorist organizations. They added they were alarmed by the use of foreign policy-related justifications and "misuse of immigration law" to reject citizenship or deport activists.

"These are contrary to international standards and have [a] deep chilling effect on the protection of democratic freedoms," they said.

The International Red Cross confirmed on Thursday that Israel had returned 30 more bodies of Palestinians to Gaza, bringing the total number handed over to 120.

As part of the ceasefire that came into effect this week, Israel was required to hand over the bodies of 15 Palestinians for every deceased Israeli that was returned.

Late on Wednesday evening, Hamas returned the bodies of Nova music festivalgoer Inbar Hayman and Sergeant Muhammad al-Atresh.

Hamas is still present in Gaza, engaging in bloody power struggles with rival clans and groups. Many states want to see Hamas disarmed, but how realistic is that? 

Read the full story here. 

All surviving Hamas hostages are back in Israel. Their families are starting to share the conditions under which their loved ones were held. Some endured torture, others were able to play cards with their captors.

Read the full story here. 

Jean-Loup Samaan, senior research fellow at The Middle East Institute of the National University (MENA) in Singapore, told DW that European countries will likely only play a supporting role in efforts to secure lasting peace in the Middle East.

"I don't think there is any serious possibility for the Europeans being the central mediator in that process," he said. 

"But there will be a supporting role again, with regards to security and defense issues or the reconstruction of Gaza and investing in the governance instruments of the Palestinian state.

"So these are significant areas where the Europeans could play a role on the long term."

US President Donald Trump spearheaded the current ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, and Samaan added that Israel does not have a similar level of trust with Europe. 

"There's a concern, I think shared by both the Americans and the Israelis, that the Europeans may make a lot of promises, but they won't deliver," he said. "They lack credibility in terms of the resources and the political resolve.

"That's something that is very recurrent in the discussions between all those actors, you will see very often the Israelis dismissing European initiatives as empty promises and are disconnected from reality."

Additionally, a number of European countries, including France and the United Kingdom, recognized a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly in September.

"There's also a concern that the Europeans would push or would lean much more toward a Palestinian position in negotiations," he said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahutold a ceremony for fallen soldiers on Thursday that the "fight was not over" and that he would ensure Hamas hands back the remains of hostages.

"We are determined to secure the return of all hostages," Netanyahu said at a state ceremony at Jerusalem's Mount Herzl military cemetery.

"The fight is not over yet, but one thing is clear, whoever lays a hand on us knows they will pay a very heavy price," he said. "We are determined to win a victory that will shape our surroundings for many years."

Israel has demanded Hamas immediately return the remains of hostages still in Gaza, but the Palestinian militant group has said it will need special equipment to uncover the remains of 19 hostages still unaccounted for. 

In a statement released Thursday, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum urged the Israeli government to "immediately halt the implementation of any further stages of the agreement as long as Hamas continues to blatantly violate its obligations regarding the return of all hostages and the remains of the victims."

 

Israel has said the opening date for the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt will be announced at a later stage, and confirmed that no aid will pass through the gateway.

In a statement Thursday, COGAT — the Israeli Defense Ministry agency overseeing civil affairs in the Palestinian territories — said the crossing would open only for the movement of people once Israel and Egypt complete preparations.

"It should be emphasized that humanitarian aid will not pass through the Rafah Crossing. This was never agreed upon at any stage," it said, adding that "aid continues to enter the Gaza Strip" through other crossings.

Rafah is a key international crossing into Gaza.

When it was open, international aid often entered from Egypt and was transported by truck to the Kerem Shalom crossing between Israel and southern Gaza for inspection by Israeli authorities before being collected by aid agencies and shipped into Gaza.

Rafah briefly reopened during a short truce in January 2025, but only to allow people wishing to leave Gaza to pass through.

The compound on the Gaza side of the crossing was taken over by Israeli forces in May 2024.
 

The Israeli military said Thursday it has identified the remains of two hostages, Inbar Hayman and Sergeant Major Mohammad al-Atrash, whose bodies were returned by Hamas the previous evening.

"Following the completion of the identification process by the National Institute of Forensic Medicine, representatives informed the families of Inbar Hayman and Sergeant Major Mohammad al-Atrash that their bodies had been repatriated for burial," the army said in a statement.

Hayman, a 27-year-old graffiti artist from Haifa known by the pseudonym "Pink," was killed at the Nova music festival on October 7 and her remains taken to Gaza. Al-Atrash, a 39-year-old Bedouin soldier, was killed in combat that same day, and his body was also taken into the Palestinian territory.

Israel has called on Germany to end its partial freeze on arms exports and drop its travel warning for parts of the country following the ceasefire in Gaza.

Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel said in Berlin that with the war over, Israel expects Germany to lift both restrictions. She expressed confidence in Germany's role in postwar diplomacy, saying her government views Berlin as a trustworthy partner and would welcome German participation in a potential peacekeeping force.

Asked about historical sensitivities, Haskel said Israel "trusts" Germany, recalling public solidarity after the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks.

On August 8, Chancellor Friedrich Merz ordered a temporary halt on weapons deliveries that could be used in Gaza, citing what he called increasingly aggressive Israeli military actions. Until then, Berlin had escalated its criticism of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government but stopped short of sanctions.

After Israel and Hamas agreed on initial steps toward a peace process, Merz said the export restrictions would be reviewed but stressed he would first coordinate any change with his coalition partners.

Leaders in Merz's conservative bloc have pushed for a rapid lifting of the curbs, while the center-left Social Democrats, his junior partners, have not yet taken a position.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has threatened to resume fighting if Hamas does not comply with the terms of the US-backed ceasefire, his office has said.

Hamas handed over the remains of two more deceased hostages on Wednesday, but said it could not recover further bodies from Gaza without specialized equipment.

Since Monday, Hamas has released 20 surviving hostages in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners freed by Israel.

Before Wednesday, Hamas had returned the remains of seven of 28 known deceased hostages, plus one body that Israel later said was not a former hostage.

"If Hamas refuses to comply with the agreement, Israel, in coordination with the United States, will resume fighting and act to achieve a total defeat of Hamas," the defense minister's office said.

Welcome to DW's coverage of events in Gaza, Israel and the wider Middle East.

As the ceasefire continues to hold, discussions are continuing on when the vital Rafah border crossing between Israel and Egypt will open for the movement of people.

We will also be looking at Israel's request for Germany to lift its partial arms ban and the continuing recovery of deceased hostages being handed over by Hamas.

Israel has reaffirmed its position that it will resume fighting if Hamas breaks the ceasefire, with the delays in returning hostage bodies becoming a key issue.

Follow along as DW brings you the latest reports, backgrounders and analysis on developments across the Middle East.