Israel expected to reopen Rafah in coming days for both exit and entry of Gazans — US official

The Trump administration expects that Israel will reopen the Rafah Crossing in the coming days to both the entry and exit of Gazans after US President Donald Trump and his aides raised the issue during their meetings on Monday with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a US official told The Times of Israel yesterday.

While the Rafah Crossing was supposed to reopen as part of the October Gaza ceasefire agreement, Israel has only been willing to comply if the gate is used exclusively for the exit of Palestinians. Egypt, in turn, has kept the crossing closed, arguing that Jerusalem is still trying to dilute the Strip’s population by not letting anyone back in.

Coming under pressure from the Trump administration, Netanyahu raised the idea of reopening Rafah in both directions before his cabinet last week. However, he faced pushback from far-right ministers who have called for encouraging the migration of Gazans from the Strip throughout the war.

Channel 12 reports that Israel plans to move ahead with the full reopening of Rafah when Netanyahu returns from the US on Friday, with an Israeli official telling the network that Jerusalem doesn’t want to be seen as the party that is blocking the implementation of Trump’s Gaza peace plan.