Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced Sunday that Israel has consented to a “limited reopening” of Gaza’s Rafah crossing with Egypt as part of Trump’s 20-point peace plan.
In a series of posts on X, the office stated that the crossing will reopen following the completion of an operation to locate the remains of the last Israeli hostage. The reopening will be restricted to pedestrian traffic and will be subject to comprehensive Israeli inspection procedures.
“As part of President Trump’s 20-point plan, Israel agreed to a limited reopening of the Rafah Crossing for pedestrian passage only, subject to a full Israeli inspection mechanism,” the Office of the Prime Minister of Israel wrote.
The Prime Minister’s Office stated that the reopening was conditional on the return of all hostages and what it termed a “100 percent effort” by Hamas to locate and return the remains of all deceased hostages.
All deceased hostages have been recovered with the exception of police officer Ran Gvili.
“The IDF is currently conducting a focused operation to exhaust all intelligence gathered in the effort to locate and return the fallen hostage, Master-Sgt. Ran Gvili, of blessed memory,” the Prime Minister’s Office wrote. “Upon completion of this operation, and in accordance with the agreement, Israel will open the Rafah Crossing.”
“The State of Israel is committed to the return of Israeli hero Master-Sgt. Ran Gvili and will spare no effort to bring him home for a proper Jewish burial,” the statement added.
President Trump unveiled his 20-point plan to end the Gaza war in September. The 20 remaining hostages were released from captivity in Gaza on October 13.
Earlier this month, the Trump administration formally initiated the second phase of the plan, transitioning from a ceasefire framework to a post-ceasefire political and security phase for Gaza.
U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff warned that Hamas must fully comply with its obligations under the agreement, which includes the immediate return of the final deceased hostage.
“The U.S. expects Hamas to comply fully with its obligations, including the immediate return of the final deceased hostage,” Witkoff wrote on X on January 14. “Failure to do so will bring serious consequences.”
Digital’s Efrat Lachter contributed to this report.