Israel made the opening of the Rafah crossing subject to what process?

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s office said on Sunday that Gaza’s Rafah crossing with Egypt will be reopened to traffic only after the operation to find the remains of the last Israeli prisoner in the area is completed.

The border was to be opened as part of a cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas reached in October, during the first phase of US President Donald Trump’s plan to end the war.

However, Israel has made the reopening of the border conditional on the return of all living prisoners held by Palestinian militant groups in Gaza and a “100 percent effort” by Hamas to locate and return the bodies of all dead prisoners.

All but the body of police officer Ron Goveli have been returned. The Israeli army said on Sunday it had launched a ‘targeted operation’ to recover their remains in northern Gaza, while an Israeli military official said there were ‘several clues’ about their possible location.

Netanyahu’s office said in a statement that the Israeli military is “currently conducting a focused operation to use all intelligence gathered in an effort to locate and return deceased prisoner Master Sergeant Ron Gaveli.”

A Palestinian child stands on the rubble of a building destroyed by Israeli strikes in Gaza on January 13, 2026 (AFP)

The statement added that when the operation is completed, “Israel will open the Rafah crossing.”

On Thursday, the head of the U.S.-backed Palestinian Authority Transitional Committee, which temporarily administers Gaza, said the Rafah crossing would open this week.

This border crossing is virtually the only way into and out of Gaza for almost the entire population of over 2 million people living in the area.

The Gaza side of the crossing has been under Israeli military control since 2024.

“As part of President Trump’s 20-point plan, Israel has agreed to reopen the Rafah crossing to pedestrians only on a limited scale, subject to a full Israeli inspection system,” Netanyahu’s office said.

This month, Washington announced that the plan had entered a second phase, which is expected to see Israel withdraw more troops from Gaza and Hamas to relinquish administrative control of the territory.

Three sources told Reuters last week that Israel wants to limit the number of Palestinians entering Gaza through border crossings with Egypt to ensure that more people leave than enter.

On the other hand, the Gaza Ministry of Health said on Sunday that three Palestinian civilians were killed by Israeli gunfire in two separate incidents in the area on Sunday, while four others were wounded by an Israeli drone in Gaza City.

At least two people were killed by Israeli fire east of Tafah neighborhood in the northern Gaza Strip, and a 41-year-old man was killed by Israeli forces in Khan Yunis, south of the enclave, medics said.

Earlier, an Israeli drone exploded on the roof of a multi-story building in Gaza City, injuring four civilians on a nearby street, medical workers said.