Egypt and Qatar, as the main mediators of the conflict in Gaza, along with six other Muslim-majority countries, have raised the alarm over Israel's plan to unilaterally open the Rafah border crossing, allowing only the exit of Palestinians towards Egypt, without guaranteeing their return and without allowing humanitarian aid to enter Gaza.
The warning comes as the Israeli war in Gaza continues unabated, with nearly 600 ceasefire violations recorded over the past seven weeks. On Saturday alone, three people were reported killed in Beit Lahiya after fresh Israeli airstrikes.
The foreign ministers of Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates issued a joint statement on Friday, expressing "deep concern" over Israel's announcement that the Rafah border crossing would only be opened for the exit of residents from Gaza to Egypt.
According to them, this decision, announced by the Israeli military unit COGAT, constitutes a violation of the first phase of the American peace plan, which foresees the functioning of Rafah in both directions.
Egypt and the signatory countries strongly condemned this plan, emphasizing "the complete rejection of any attempt to displace the Palestinian people from their land," and called on Israel to fully implement US President Donald Trump's 20-point plan, which envisages the full opening of Rafah in both directions.
Since the ceasefire came into effect on October 10, according to this plan, Israeli authorities have repeatedly delayed the opening of the border crossing to allow the entry of vital aid and the exit of people in need of medical treatment.
As justification, Israel has cited the failure to return the bodies of all those captured by Hamas and the need for coordination with Egypt. Currently, only one body of the captured person remains in Gaza, and its recovery has been hampered by the massive destruction caused by Israeli bombing.
