Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Wednesday that Israel will remain in control of the Rafah crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt throughout the first phase of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.
A statement from the office denied reports that the Palestinian Authority, which governs part of the West Bank, would control the Rafah crossing.
European Union monitors will supervise the crossing, with Israeli troops surrounding the area and Israel in charge of approving the passage of people and goods through the crossing.
Israel has been in control of the area since May of 2024 as part of its offensive seeking to dismantle the Hamas militant group in Gaza.
Israeli official resigns
Israel’s army chief, Herzi Halevi, said Tuesday he would resign on March 6, accepting responsibility for the massive security failure on October 7, 2023, when Hamas militants from Gaza carried out a cross-border terror attack on Israel, killing 1,200 people and capturing 250 hostages.
Halevi, in a letter to Israel’s defense minister, said he would complete the Israel Defense Forces’ inquiries into the shock strike that led to 15 months of fighting and help strengthen the IDF’s readiness for future security challenges.
“I will transfer command of the IDF in a high-quality and thorough manner to my successor,” wrote Halevi, who is chief of the General Staff of Israel’s armed forces.
A six-week truce is now in effect, but Halevi said, “The objectives of the war have not all been achieved. The army will continue to fight to further dismantle Hamas and its governing capabilities, ensure the return of the hostages” and enable Israelis displaced by militant attacks to return home.
Ever since the attack, Netanyahu has refused to answer questions about assigning blame for the attack, saying that such an inquiry could wait for the war to end.
Israel’s counteroffensive in Gaza has killed more than 47,000, with most of them women and children, according to the health ministry in Gaza, although Israel, without evidence, says it has killed 17,000 militants.
Hamas, a U.S. designated terror group, said it will release another round of hostages on Saturday, as the ceasefire with Israel held into a third day and U.N. humanitarian agencies moved aid into Gaza to help Palestinian civilians.
A Hamas official told Agence France-Presse on Tuesday that the next group of hostages would be four Israeli women, who would be set free in exchange for a number of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
Fifteen months of war has devastated the Gaza Strip, destroying many of the homes that Palestinians who fled in search of safety hoped to return to with the halt in fighting.
The ceasefire has so far included the return of three hostages who had been held in Gaza and the release 90 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said nearly 900 aid trucks entered Gaza on Tuesday.
Some information in this report came from The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse.