As Rafah Crossing Opens, Armed Hamas Terrorists Emerge From a Nearby Tunnel

As Israel announced the opening of a Gaza border crossing for people’s movement, armed Hamas terrorists emerged from a tunnel nearby on Friday, underscoring the perils of the American-backed cease-fire. The Israeli government’s coordinator for Palestinian areas, known as COGAT, announced on Friday that the Rafah crossing, connecting Gaza with Egypt, will open for people’s movement on Sunday on a trial basis. The announcement made no reference to numbers, but according to multiple reports between 150-200 people would travel through the crossing in the initial stage. Also on Friday, Israeli troops eyed a movement at Rafah, near the crossing, which turned out to be the emergence of eight Hamas men from a tunnel where they have been hiding. Three of the terrorists were killed in an air strike, according to the Israel Defense Force. Additionally, a “central commander in the East Rafah Battalion” of Hamas was arrested while attempting to flee, the IDF said in a statement. Opening the Rafah crossing was made possible once the body of the last hostage in Gaza, Ran Gvili, was returned for burial in Israel. The body had been interred by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad faction in a cemetery near Gaza city, and was rescued by IDF and Shabak units earlier this week. The Rafah crossing’s opening signals the start of the 20-point Gaza cease-fire’s second phase. While Washington and international partners turn their attention to the expensive and complex task of rebuilding the strip, an even tougher component of the phase is expected to be the disarming of Hamas. The Friday incident near Rafah illustrates the difficulties of that task. While demilitarizing Gaza and dismantling all of its tunnels are specified in the cease-fire agreement, Hamas is openly declaring its plans to remain armed. The types of weapons to be eliminated are yet to be spelled out, and Hamas is seeking to incorporate its 10,000 armed police officers in the group that would rule Gaza. Opening the Rafah crossing, meanwhile, is raising concerns in Israel, where Prime Minister Netanayahu had vowed to allow Israeli officials to be present at the checkpoint. As COGAT acknowledges, though, the crossing will be manned by European observers on the Gaza side and Egyptian soldiers on Egypt’s side.Cairo, though, is expected to transmit to Israel a list of all Gazans that would enter and exit ahead of each day of crossings. Israeli officials will verify the identity of those who are on the list via cameras equipped with facial recognition devices. A Palestinian request for movement of goods through the crossing, in addition to people, was denied by the Israelis. The Rafah crossing has been damaged during the war, which for now limits the possibility of large movements there. For now, most Gaza applicants are the ones that were evacuated during the war for humanitarian or medical reasons, and are now seeking to return. One question that is expected to be closely watched later is how many would seek to leave the Strip.During the war Israel has been accused of committing genocide and attempting to ethnically cleanse Gazans. South Africa initiated a case at the International Criminal Court, alleging that Israelis have deliberately sought to eliminate Palestinians from Gaza. On Friday, Pretoria expelled the Israeli representative there, Ariel Seidman, for what it alleged was “unacceptable violations of diplomatic norms.”South Africa claimed that Mr. Seidman insulted President Cyril Ramaphosa on social media. The Jerusalem foreign ministry quickly retaliated, citing Pretoria’s “false attacks against Israel in the international arena and the unilateral, baseless step taken against the Charge d’Affaires of Israel in South Africa” As a result, a foreign ministry statement said Friday, Mr. Netanyahu and foreign minister Gideon Saar decided that “South Africa’s senior diplomatic representative, Minister Shaun Edward Byneveldt, is persona non grata and must leave Israel within 72 hours.”

As Rafah Crossing Opens, Armed Hamas Terrorists Emerge From a Nearby Tunnel

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