ISTANBUL, Oct 19 — Hamas said Saturday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to keep the Rafah border crossing closed constitutes a “blatant” violation of a ceasefire agreement and a “repudiation” of commitments made to mediators.
Netanyahu’s office announced earlier that the crossing would remain closed “until further notice,” in violation of a ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip.
The Rafah crossing had been scheduled to reopen last Wednesday as part of the first phase of the ceasefire agreement, which took effect on October 10.
Since May 2024, the Israeli army has blocked the movement of Palestinians through the crossing, the territory’s only window to the outside world that was not controlled by Tel Aviv before the start of the Israeli onslaught against Gaza in October 2023.
“Netanyahu’s decision to prevent the reopening of the Rafah crossing until further notice constitutes a blatant breach of the ceasefire agreement and a repudiation of the commitments he made before mediators and guarantor parties,” Hamas said in a statement.
“The continued closure of Rafah — preventing the evacuation of the wounded and sick, restricting the movement of civilians, blocking the entry of specialised equipment needed for the search for missing people under the rubble, and obstructing forensic teams from identifying bodies — will delay the recovery and handover of (Israeli hostages) remains,” it said.
Hamas said that “the ongoing Israeli violations and assaults — totalling more than 47 documented breaches resulting in 38 martyrs and 143 injuries — once again demonstrate Israel’s aggressive intent and its continued policy of siege against more than two million Palestinians in Gaza.”
It accused Netanyahu of “inventing false pretexts to obstruct implementation of the agreement and evade his obligations.” The group urged mediators and guarantor parties to act swiftly to pressure Israel to immediately reopen the crossing, comply with all terms of the agreement and end its ongoing crimes in Gaza.
Hamas released 20 living Israeli hostages and handed over the remains of 13 more captives in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners under the ceasefire agreement.
The deal was reached between Israel and Hamas last week, based on a phased plan presented by United States (US) President Donald Trump. Phase one included the release of Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.
The plan also envisages the rebuilding of Gaza and the establishment of a new governing mechanism without Hamas.
Since October 2023, the Israeli genocidal war has killed more than 68,100 victims and injured 170,200, the Gaza Health Ministry said Saturday.
