On Saturday afternoon, the Palestinian embassy in Egypt announced that the crossing between Egypt and southern Gaza would be opened on Monday.
This was however contradicted just a moment later by Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
"The opening will be considered based on how Hamas fulfills its part of the agreement to return the remains of the kidnapped and implement the agreed framework", said Netanyahu's office in a statement.
Late on Saturday evening, it was time for Hamas to give its view on the matter. In a statement, the terrorist-stamped movement warns that a continued delay in the opening will "significantly delay" the work of finding the remains of the dead from the hostages that are still in Gaza because this prevents the machines and tools needed from reaching the strip.
The twists regarding the timing of the opening of the border crossing have been many. As recently as on Thursday, Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar stated that the opening would likely take place on Sunday.
The crossing has been largely closed since May 2024.
Currently, aid is referred to the passages between Israel and Gaza, according to the Israeli authority Cogat. This means a significant detour and extra bureaucracy for aid shipments arriving in Egypt.
