UK welcomes reopening of Gaza’s Rafah Crossing, but says much more must be done

By Reuters 2 February 2026, 1:57 pm

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Britain's Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper speaks with the media as she arrives for a meeting of NATO foreign ministers at NATO headquarters in Brussels, December 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)

Britain’s foreign minister says that she welcomes the reopening of Gaza’s main border crossing in Rafah, which will allow a limited number Palestinian pedestrians to cross in both directions, but emphasizes that much more still needs to be done.

“I welcome Rafah reopening for people to cross both ways on foot, allowing some in desperate need to access medical care in Egypt,” Yvette Cooper says on X. “But much more still needs to be done.

“Aid must flow in, restrictions on essential supplies must ease, and aid workers must be allowed to operate.”