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Israel said it will retain control of the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip during the first phase of a ceasefire with Hamas. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office denied reports Wednesday that the Palestinian Authority would control the crossing.
The PM's office said local Palestinians who are not affiliated with Hamas and who have been screened by the Israeli military will stamp passports at the crossing. Under international agreements, this stamp is the only way Gazans can leave the Gaza Strip to enter other countries.
33 hostages held by Hamas to be released
The ceasefire is supposed to bring peace to war-torn Gaza for six weeks and see the release of 33 hostages held by Hamas in exchange for hundreds of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. The statement said EU observers would monitor the crossing, which will be surrounded by Israeli troops.
Israel will also allow the movement of all people and goods. Israel captured the Gaza side of the Rafah crossing in May last year, forcing it to close. Egypt has demanded that the Palestinians take control of the Gaza side.
900 trucks carrying relief supplies enter Gaza
On the third day of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, 900 trucks carrying relief material entered Gaza. The UN official has said that except for sporadic incidents, no incidents of looting were reported. Since its launch, 2400 trucks carrying relief material have entered Gaza in the last three days. This was not an organised crime. Some children climbed onto trucks to take food baskets.
Nine Palestinians killed in Israeli attack on West Bank
The Israeli army attacked the West Bank on Tuesday, killing nine Palestinians. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called it a large-scale and important military operation. Netanyahu described the action, launched a day after Donald Trump announced the lifting of the ban on ultranationalist Israeli settlers attacking Palestinian villages, as a new attack against Iranian-backed terrorists. He said that we are working systematically and firmly against those where Iran has spread weapons.
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