DEIR EL-BALAH:&nbsp;Hamas said Wednesday it was ready to transfer the governance of Gaza to a Palestinian technocratic committee while insisting the key Rafah border crossing be fully reopened within days. &quot;Protocols are prepared, files are complete, and committees are in place to oversee the handover, ensuring a complete transfer of governance in the Gaza Strip across all sectors to the technocratic committee,&quot; Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem told AFP. The 15-member National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG) is a team of Palestinian technocrats created as part of the US-sponsored ceasefire agreement which came into effect on October 10. It is charged with managing the day-to-day governance of post-war Gaza and will work under the supervision of the &quot;Board of Peace,&quot; which US President Donald Trump will chair. The NCAG, headed by former Palestinian Authority deputy minister Ali Shaath, is expected to enter the Gaza Strip once the territory&#39;s Rafah crossing, on its border with Egypt, reopens. Hamas spokesman Qassem added that the Rafah crossing &quot;must be opened in both directions, with full freedom of exit and entry to the Gaza Strip, without any Israeli obstacles.&quot; Rafah is Gaza&#39;s only gateway to the outside world that does not lead to Israel and is a key entry point for both people and goods. It has been closed since Israeli forces took control of it in May 2024, except for a limited reopening in early 2025, and other bids to reopen have failed to materialize. NCAG head Shaath announced last week that Rafah would reopen in both directions the following week. Qassem told AFP the &quot;independent national committee&#39;s announcement of the opening of the Rafah crossing is important.&quot; &quot;What is more important is that we monitor this committee&#39;s handling of citizens&#39; departures and entries in full freedom in accordance with the agreement, and not according to Israeli conditions,&quot; he added. Israel has said it would only allow pedestrians to travel through the crossing as part of its &quot;limited reopening&quot; once it had recovered the remains of the last hostage, Ran Gvili. Israeli forces brought back Gvili&#39;s remains on Monday and his funeral was held in the southern town of Meitar on Wednesday. Qassem said Wednesday that &quot;it is clear that Hamas is committed to the agreement to stop the war on the Gaza Strip,&quot; which began after the militant group&#39;s deadly attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023. &quot;It has carried out everything required of it in the first phase and is ready to enter all tracks of the second phase,&quot; he added. With the technocratic committee&#39;s creation and the last hostage held in Gaza returned to Israel, the ceasefire deal&#39;s next important milestones will be Hamas&#39;s disarmament and Israel&#39;s withdrawal from Gaza. Though Hamas said the return of Gvili&#39;s body showed its commitment to the ceasefire deal, it has so far not surrendered its weapons. The group has repeatedly said disarmament is a red line, but it has also suggested it would be open to handing over its weapons to a Palestinian governing authority. Neither Israel nor Hamas has committed to a clear date or strategy for withdrawal or disarmament.

Middle East

Hamas says it is ready to transfer Gaza governance to a Palestinian technocratic committee, while demanding the full reopening of the Rafah border crossing under the ceasefire agreement

Hamas ready to transfer Gaza governance to Palestinian committee

BRUSSELS: The European Union will Wednesday restart a civilian mission to monitor the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt in support of a US-brokered ceasefire deal, the bloc&#39;s top diplomat said Monday. &quot;The EU stands ready to do its part,&quot; EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, posted on X after Hamas released a first group of Israeli hostages as part of the agreement.&nbsp; &quot;This mission can play an important role in supporting the ceasefire,&quot; she said. <div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 611px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1977624674449391943&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Fdashboard%2F&sessionId=79f3e8bbfb6998ee9f3d17259b8297858543e04e&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px"></iframe></div></div>The 27-nation bloc set up a civilian mission in 2005 to help monitor the Rafah crossing, but it was suspended two years later after Hamas took control of Gaza. Neutral, third-party presence&nbsp;The EUBAM monitoring mission aims to provide a neutral, third-party presence at the key crossing and involves police from Italy, Spain and France. It was briefly redeployed in January but suspended again in March. Welcoming Monday&#39;s hostage release, Kallas highlighted US President Donald Trump&#39;s role in this &quot;crucial milestone towards peace&quot;, saying the leader &quot;made this breakthrough possible&quot;. In a separate statement, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said Monday&#39;s Gaza summit in Sharm el-Sheikh finalizing the agreement to end the war would be &quot;a historical milestone.&quot; Bloc fully supports peace plan&nbsp;The bloc &quot;fully supports the peace plan brokered by the United States, Qatar, Egypt, and Turkiye,&quot; she wrote. &quot;We stand ready to contribute to its success with all tools at our disposal,&quot; she said, including by &quot;providing support on governance and for the reform of the Palestinian Authority&quot;. The EU is represented in Sharm el-Sheikh by Antonio Costa, who heads the European Council of the bloc&#39;s member states.

The EU will restart its Rafah border monitoring mission to support a US-brokered Gaza ceasefire. Officials praised recent hostage releases and pledged full support for the peace plan and Palestinian Authority reform.

Articles tagged with "Rafah border"

Hamas ready to transfer Gaza governance to Palestinian committee

EU to restart Gaza-Egypt border monitoring mission