Hamas urges Gaza ceasefire mediators, guarantors to press Israel to reopen Rafah crossing

CAIRO – 18 October 2025: Hamas on Saturday accused Israel of violating the Gaza ceasefire agreement by continuing to block the reopening of the Rafah border crossing, calling on mediators and guarantor states to intervene immediately.

In a statement, Hamas said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to keep the crossing closed “until further notice” constitutes a “flagrant breach” of the ceasefire terms and a “denial of commitments that he made before mediators and guarantors.”

Netanyahu’s office announced today blocking the planned reopening of the crossing, which had long served as a key gate for the movement of Palestinians and, during the war, the humanitarian aid, “until further notice.”

The office added that the step of Rafah crossing reopening “will be under consideration in accordance with the manner in which Hamas implements its part in return of the deceased hostages and implementation of the agreed upon framework.”

Hamas has already handed over the bodies of ten captives in recent days, along with two additional bodies believed to belong to captives late on Saturday.

If Israeli forensic tests confirm the identities of the two bodies as those of captives, the number of Israelis whose remains have been handed over by Hamas since the Gaza ceasefire took effect on October 10 will rise to 12.

The Palestinian group says it needs heavy machinery and excavation equipment to speed up the recovery of remains buried under the rubble.

Meanwhile, Tel Aviv has criticized Hamas for what it described as delays in the handover process, insisting that Hamas knows the whereabouts of the dead captives.

In today’s statement, Hamas blamed Tel Aviv for the continued closure of the Rafah crossing, preventing the evacuation of the wounded and sick and restricting civilian movement.

The group warned that these measures, alongside blocking the entry of specialized equipment needed for recovery operations and body identification, as well as banning forensic and rescue teams, are delaying the retrieval and handover of bodies.

Hamas called on mediators and ceasefire guarantors to “act urgently to pressure the occupation to open the Rafah crossing immediately, compel it to honor all provisions of the agreement, and halt its ongoing crimes against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip.”

The statement accused Israeli forces of carrying out 47 documented violations of the ceasefire agreement, killing 38 people and injuring 143 others.

Hamas warned that these violations demonstrate Israel’s “aggressive intentions” and its persistence in imposing the blockade on more than two million Palestinians in Gaza.

The Rafah crossing has long been the only gateway for Gazans seeking to leave or enter to the enclave, as movement through Israel’s Erez crossing with Israel has been limited to exceptional humanitarian cases.

However, it has been closed to the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza since Israeli forces took control of the Palestinian side in May 2024. Its reopening has been postponed several times since the ceasefire took effect on 10 October.

The anticipated reopening of the Rafah crossing comes under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s peace plan, which established the ceasefire and a prisoner exchange between Hamas and Israel as part of the first phase.

The plan also led to a surge in humanitarian aid entering to the famine-stricken enclave and the release of all 20 living Israeli captives in exchange for nearly 2,000 living Palestinian prisoners.