Israel to open Rafah crossing on Feb 1 after hostage-prisoner exchange: Report

A Hamas official on Friday said that Israel will reopen the Rafah border crossing on February 1 after the fourth batch of hostages and Palestinian prisoners are released.

“The mediators informed Hamas of Israel’s approval to open Rafah crossing tomorrow, Saturday, after the completion of the fourth batch of prisoner exchange,” the Hamas official told AFP.

The official added that as per the ceasefire agreement, injured people will be evacuated at the crossing that connects Gaza with Egypt.

The Rafah crossing was a vital entry point for humanitarian aid to enter Gaza before the Israeli military seized the Palestinian side of it in May.

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Hamas’ health ministry said that the first group of wounded people will leave Gaza on Saturday for treatment in Egypt.

Last Monday the European Union agreed to restart its monitoring mission at the Rafah crossing, with 18 EU and local personnel including a police security detachment from Italy, Spain and France.

“The mission was launched at the request of Israel and the Palestinian Authority, with the full support of Egypt,” the Italian government said in a statement which added the “primary objective is to coordinate and facilitate the daily transit of up to 300 wounded and sick”.

Hamas to release 3 hostages tomorrow

Meanwhile, Hamas has announced that it will free three Israeli hostages on Saturday, making it the fourth such release under the Gaza truce deal.

The three hostages were kidnapped by the Palestinian terrorist group on October 7 and will finally meet their loved ones on February 1.

Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants have so far handed over 15 hostages to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, many of them women and minors.

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In exchange, Israel will free 90 prisoners, nine of whom are serving life sentences, the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club advocacy group said.

Who are the hostages?

The Hostage and Missing Families Forum said that the captives to be released in the latest swap are Yarden Bibas, Keith Siegel and Ofer Kalderon.

Bibas, along with his wife Shiri and their children, Ariel (4) and Kfir (10 months), were abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz. Yarden was injured during the kidnapping and was seen being taken to Gaza separately from his wife and children. According to a report by Times of Israel, Hamas has said that Shiri and her two children have been killed in captivity but Israel has not confirmed their deaths.

Kalderon, who also holds French nationality, was taken hostage along with two kids from Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7. His children were released in the previous ceasefire.

Siegel, a US citizen originally from North Carolina, was kidnapped along with his wife, Aviva, from Kibbutz Kfar Aza during the Hamas-led attack and massacre in southern Israel on October 7, 2023. Aviva was released during a previous ceasefire in November 2023.

With inputs from agencies