UN Relief Chief Urges Israel to Open Gaza Border Crossings

“This needs to happen now. We want it to happen now as part of this agreement,” Fletcher told AFP in an interview in Cairo ahead of a planned trip to the Gaza border. he said.

Earlier in the day, Israeli public broadcaster KAN had reported that the Rafah crossing point to Egypt would be reopened, but this did not happen and an Israeli spokesman did not respond to AFP’s request for comment.

Fletcher, the UN assistant secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency assistance, is expected to go to the Rafah border crossing on Thursday. It is the only border point connecting Gaza to the world without crossing Israel.

US President Donald Trump and regional leaders signed a declaration to strengthen the agreement in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on Monday.

“But the test of this agreement is not the photos, press conferences and interviews,” Fletcher said.

“The test is that we feed our children, we anesthetize people being treated in hospitals, we set up tents over people’s heads.”

Israel currently allows humanitarian aid into Palestinian territory at other checkpoints under its control, but aid agencies complain that bureaucracy and security checks slow the flow of life-saving supplies.

“We want all of these crossings to be open and access to be completely unimpeded,” Fletcher said, adding that Trump and other world leaders at the summit “were clear that we should be allowed to send aid on a large scale.”

– Two more bodies –

Meanwhile, Israel and Hamas are expected to continue exchanging human remains under the Trump plan approved by international mediators.

The exchange allowed the last 20 surviving hostages to return home in exchange for the release of approximately 2,000 Palestinian prisoners from Israeli prisons.

So far, Hamas has returned the remains of seven of the 28 hostages known to be dead, and the eighth body, which Israel says does not belong to a former hostage.

Late Wednesday, the Israeli military said the Red Cross had received two more coffins containing the remains of hostages in northern Gaza and would transfer them to the army to be brought home.

Hamas’s armed wing confirmed it would hand over two more bodies but warned that these would be the last for now, as it had recovered all it could reach; This fell far short of the target requested under the plan.

“The Resistance has fulfilled its commitment to the agreement by handing over all living Israeli prisoners in custody and the bodies it could access,” Ezzedine Al Qassam Brigades said in a statement on social media. he said.

“Rescuing and removing the remaining bodies requires great effort and special equipment. We are making great efforts to close this file.”

This is likely to put more domestic pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to tie aid to the fate of the bodies.

Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir has threatened to cut off aid supplies to Gaza if Hamas does not return the remains of soldiers still held there.

– Humanitarian risk –

Meanwhile, Israel’s Hamas-run health ministry said Israel had transferred the bodies of 45 detained Palestinians to Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza, bringing the number to 90.

According to Trump’s plan, Israel will return the bodies of 15 Palestinians in exchange for every dead Israeli hostage.

The Gaza civil defense agency, which operates as a rescue force affiliated with Hamas, said three Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire on Wednesday, two of whom died trying to reach their homes in Gaza City’s Shujaiya district.

The Israeli military said several suspects had been identified “crossing the yellow line and approaching” troops in the northern Gaza Strip, referring to the line from which Israeli forces retreated under the ceasefire agreement.

The military said this “violated the agreement” and that “soldiers eliminated the threat by shooting the suspects.”

The war, sparked by Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, led to a humanitarian disaster in Gaza; The densely populated region was dependent on aid, which was greatly curtailed if not cut off completely.

At the end of August, the United Nations declared a famine in Gaza, but Israel denied the claim. The return of aid is included in Trump’s 20-point plan for Gaza.

Another political challenge is the disarmament of Hamas; The militant group refused to accept this demand.

The group is tightening its grip on Gaza’s devastated cities, but Israel and the United States insist Hamas can have no role in the future Gaza government.