Hamas' Al Qassam Brigades hand over a coffin containing the body believed to be that of Shiri Bibas, a mother captured by the brigades along with her husband and two children on October 7, 2023. - Hamas
CAIRO – 15 October 2025: Israel has agreed to reopen the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt and resume the flow of humanitarian aid into the enclave, following the return of the bodies of four Israeli captives, Reuters reported, citing Israeli reports.
Egypt has repeatedly stated that it has kept the Rafah crossing open from its side throughout the war, blaming Israel for blocking access from the opposite side.
The reopening of the crossing comes under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s peace plan, recently approved by both Hamas and Israel and endorsed by world leaders.
Israel also shelved previously planned punitive measures against Hamas, which had included cutting in half the number of aid trucks entering Gaza, Israeli public broadcaster Kan reported on Wednesday.
However, aid bound for Gaza today will enter through the Karm Abu Salem crossing as before, rather than from the Rafah crossing.
Trucks from the 50th “Zad Al-Ezza – From Egypt to Gaza” convoy have begun moving toward the secondary gate of the Rafah land port, heading to the Karm Abu Salem crossing in southeastern Gaza and the Al-Ouja land crossing, in preparation for delivering humanitarian aid to famine-stricken population.
This longer route has been in use since Israel seized control of and blocked the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing in May 2024.
“Zad Al-Ezza – From Egypt to Gaza” trucks deliver aid to Gaza from Egypt - Egyptian Red Crescent
Hamas handed over the remains of four additional captives late Tuesday, bringing the total number of bodies returned to eight, according to Al Qahera News. Meanwhile, the group is still believed to be holding around 20 captives.
All 20 living hostages were released on Monday, three days after a ceasefire took effect on October 10, marking the start of the first phase of the Gaza peace plan, approved by Israel and Hamas.
In return, Israel released nearly 2,000 Palestinian detainees from its prisons on Monday under the agreement, including more than 1,700 individuals who had been detained by Israeli forces in Gaza during the war and held without charge.
Hamas reportedly informed mediators that it would hand over four more bodies on Wednesday, though it requested additional time to locate the remains of others believed to be buried beneath rubble or trapped in tunnel networks across Gaza, according to Kan.
“A big burden has been lifted, but the job is not done — the dead have not all been returned as promised,” President Trump said on his Truth Social platform on Tuesday, a day after visiting Israel and Egypt to mark the implementation of the agreement.
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