Rafah crossing opens days after IDF says Hamas violated ceasefire, conducts strikes
The Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt reopened on February 2, more than two years after it was closed in the wake of the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), which coordinates and facilitates aid entry into Gaza, said on February 1 that the crossing would be open for pedestrian traffic only. The reopening came two days after a significant round of Israel Defense Forces (IDF) strikes on Gaza overnight between January 30 and 31. The Israeli military said that the strikes were in response to Hamas violating the terms of the ceasefire that began in October.
The Israeli strikes targeted members of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. “According to the military, the strikes were launched after eight gunmen emerged from a tunnel in southern Gaza’s Rafah on Friday. The IDF said that three of the gunmen were killed in strikes and a fourth, described as a key Hamas commander, was captured,” The Times of Israel reported. More than two dozen people were killed in the operations, according to Hamas-run health authorities in Gaza.
“I am deeply concerned by what has taken place since Friday: Hamas armed operatives emerging from a tunnel in Rafah, Israeli strikes that tragically also killed civilians,” Nickolay E. Mladenov, the Board of Peace’s Gaza envoy, wrote on X on February 1. “Such developments risk the hard-won progress under UNSCR 2803 and President Trump’s 20-Point Peace Plan,” he added.
The decision to reopen the Rafah crossing is a key part of the US-backed ceasefire deal for Gaza that was agreed to in September and came into effect in October. The agreement entered a new phase in January. The last hostage held in Gaza was returned to Israel on January 26. The same day, Israel’s Prime Minister’s Office noted, “As part of President Trump’s 20-point plan, Israel has agreed to a limited reopening of the Rafah Crossing for pedestrian passage only, subject to a full Israeli inspection mechanism. The reopening of the crossing was conditioned upon the return of all living hostages and a 100% effort by Hamas to locate and return all deceased hostages.”
Israel’s COGAT issued a statement on January 30 explaining how the reopening would function. Movement of people will be allowed in both directions, but only in limited quantities. “Exit from and entry into the Gaza Strip via the Rafah Crossing will be permitted in coordination with Egypt, following prior security clearance of individuals by Israel, and under the supervision of the European Union mission, similar to the mechanism implemented in January 2025,” COGAT noted.
The US State Department’s Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs published a statement on X that included comments about the reopening of the crossing from Doctor Ali Shaath, Chairman of the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), a Palestinian technocratic organization created under the US-backed ceasefire plan. “This step is not merely an administrative measure; it represents the beginning of a long journey to reconnect what has been cut off and to open a true window of hope for our people in the Gaza Strip,” Shaath said.
Separately, the IDF continued to clash with terrorists in Gaza in a range of incidents. On February 1, the IDF “killed a terrorist near the Yellow Line in the southern Gaza Strip,” who the Israeli military said approached troops in Gaza, and a similar incident occurred on February 2.
The IDF also continued to dismantle terrorist infrastructure in the territory. “Troops from the 188th Armored Brigade, under the command of the Gaza Division, have been operating in recent weeks in the area of Khan Yunis, east of the Yellow Line,” the IDF said on February 1. “Inside the route, three living quarters and dozens of weapons were located, including approximately 45 grenades, 35 magazines, ten rifles, RPG rockets, an RPG launcher, approximately ten explosive devices, and six military vests,” the IDF added.
