ISTANBUL: Hamas declared on Saturday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to keep the Rafah border crossing closed represents a blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement.
Netanyahu’s office had earlier announced the crossing would remain shut until further notice, directly contradicting the Gaza ceasefire terms.
The Rafah crossing was supposed to reopen last Wednesday as part of the first phase of the ceasefire that began on October 10.
Israel has blocked Palestinian movement through Rafah since May 2024, closing Gaza’s only external access point not controlled by Tel Aviv before the war started in October 2023.
Hamas stated that Netanyahu’s refusal to reopen Rafah constitutes a clear breach of his commitments to mediators and guarantor parties.
The continued closure prevents evacuation of wounded people, restricts civilian movement, blocks search equipment for missing persons, and hinders forensic teams from identifying bodies.
This obstruction will delay the recovery and handover of remaining Israeli hostage remains according to the group.
Hamas documented over 47 Israeli violations causing 38 martyrs and 143 injuries, showing Israel’s ongoing aggressive siege policy against two million Gazans.
The group accused Netanyahu of inventing false pretexts to avoid implementing the agreement and fulfilling his obligations.
Hamas urgently called on mediators and guarantors to pressure Israel for immediate crossing reopening and full compliance with the ceasefire terms.
Under the agreement, Hamas released 20 living Israeli hostages and returned 13 captives’ remains in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.
Israel and Hamas reached the deal last week based on a phased plan presented by United States President Donald Trump.
Phase one involved hostage-prisoner exchanges while the plan also includes Gaza reconstruction and establishing a new governing mechanism without Hamas.
The Gaza Health Ministry reported on Saturday that Israel’s genocidal war has killed more than 68,100 people and injured 170,200 since October 2023. – Bernama-Anadolu
