ROME: An EU mission at the Rafah border point between Gaza and Egypt will resume following the ceasefire, with the pedestrian crossing due to reopen on October 14, Italy said Friday.
The EUBAM monitoring mission is intended to provide a neutral, third-party presence at the key crossing and involves police from Italy, Spain and France. It was deployed in January but suspended in March.
In a statement, Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto said he had authorized the resumption of Italian operations within the EU mission for the reopening of the crossing under the same conditions as in January.
It follows the ceasefire agreed between Israel and Hamas under a truce and hostage-release deal proposed by US President Donald Trump.
“On October 14, 2025, in compliance with the Trump agreement, in coordination with the European Union and the parties, the Rafah crossing will be opened alternately in two directions, exiting toward Egypt and entering toward Gaza,” Crosetto said.
He said Israel was “working to restore the logistical functionality of the crossing’s infrastructure as quickly as possible.”
Crosetto also said that “approximately 600 trucks carrying humanitarian aid will flow into Gaza from other (non-Rafah) crossings every day.”
In January, the EU said the main objective of the mission was to coordinate and facilitate the daily transit of up to 300 wounded and sick people.
Crosetto said Friday: “The passage of personnel will not be limited to serious medical cases, but will be extended to anyone who wishes (subject to the mutual approval of Israel and Egypt).”
The EU set up the civilian mission in 2005 to help monitor the Rafah crossing, but it was suspended two years later after the Palestinian group Hamas took control of Gaza.
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EU-monitored Gaza pedestrian crossing to reopen next week: Italy
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EU-monitored Gaza pedestrian crossing to reopen next week: Italy
- An EU mission at the Rafah border point between Gaza and Egypt will resume following the ceasefire, with the pedestrian crossing due to reopen on October 14, Italy said Friday
Israeli airstrike kills 1 and wounds 11 including students in southern Lebanon
SIDON: An Israeli airstrike on a car in southern Lebanon on Wednesday killed one person and wounded 11 including students aboard a nearby bus, the Health Ministry and state media said.
The strike in the village of Tiri came hours after an Israeli drone attack on the Palestinian refugee camp of Ein el-Hilweh in southern Lebanon killed 13 people and wounded several others. The Tuesday night strike was the deadliest among scores of Israeli attacks since a ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah war a year ago.
State-run National News Agency said a school bus with students happened to be passing near the car that was hit Wednesday morning. The bus driver and several students were wounded, the report said. The identity of the person who died in the car wasn’t immediately clear. The Israeli military did not comment Wednesday.
In the Ein el-Hilweh refugee camp, just outside the port city of Sidon, life appeared normal Wednesday but Lebanese authorities prevented journalists from entering.
At the scene of the strike, paramedics searched for human remains around a wall that was stained with blood. Several cars were burnt and broken glass and debris littered the ground.
On Tuesday night, the Israeli military said it struck a Hamas training compound that was being used to prepare an attack against Israel and its army. It added that the Israeli army would continue to act against Hamas wherever it operates.
Hamas condemned the attack and denied in a statement that the sports playground that was hit was its training compound.
Palestinian factions in Lebanon’s 12 refugee camps earlier this year began handing over their weapons to the Lebanese state. The government has said that it will also work on disarming Hezbollah but Hezbollah has rejected it as long as Israel continues to occupy several hills along the border and carries out almost daily strikes.
The US has recently increased pressure on Lebanon to work harder on disarming Hezbollah and canceled a planned trip to Washington this week by Lebanese army commander Gen. Rudolph Haikal.
A senior Lebanese army officer told The Associated Press that US officials were angered by an army statement on Sunday that blamed Israel for destabilizing Lebanon and blocking the Lebanese military deployment in south Lebanon. The officer spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to speak publicly.
The latest Israel-Hezbollah war began Oct. 8, 2023, a day after Hamas attacked southern Israel, after Hezbollah fired rockets into Israel in solidarity with Hamas. Israel launched a widespread bombardment of Lebanon two months ago that severely weakened Hezbollah, followed by a ground invasion.
That war, the most recent of several conflicts involving Hezbollah over the past four decades, killed more than 4,000 people in Lebanon, including hundreds of civilians, and caused an estimated $11 billion worth of destruction, according to the World Bank. In Israel, 127 people died, including 80 soldiers.
The strike in the village of Tiri came hours after an Israeli drone attack on the Palestinian refugee camp of Ein el-Hilweh in southern Lebanon killed 13 people and wounded several others. The Tuesday night strike was the deadliest among scores of Israeli attacks since a ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah war a year ago.
State-run National News Agency said a school bus with students happened to be passing near the car that was hit Wednesday morning. The bus driver and several students were wounded, the report said. The identity of the person who died in the car wasn’t immediately clear. The Israeli military did not comment Wednesday.
In the Ein el-Hilweh refugee camp, just outside the port city of Sidon, life appeared normal Wednesday but Lebanese authorities prevented journalists from entering.
At the scene of the strike, paramedics searched for human remains around a wall that was stained with blood. Several cars were burnt and broken glass and debris littered the ground.
On Tuesday night, the Israeli military said it struck a Hamas training compound that was being used to prepare an attack against Israel and its army. It added that the Israeli army would continue to act against Hamas wherever it operates.
Hamas condemned the attack and denied in a statement that the sports playground that was hit was its training compound.
Palestinian factions in Lebanon’s 12 refugee camps earlier this year began handing over their weapons to the Lebanese state. The government has said that it will also work on disarming Hezbollah but Hezbollah has rejected it as long as Israel continues to occupy several hills along the border and carries out almost daily strikes.
The US has recently increased pressure on Lebanon to work harder on disarming Hezbollah and canceled a planned trip to Washington this week by Lebanese army commander Gen. Rudolph Haikal.
A senior Lebanese army officer told The Associated Press that US officials were angered by an army statement on Sunday that blamed Israel for destabilizing Lebanon and blocking the Lebanese military deployment in south Lebanon. The officer spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to speak publicly.
The latest Israel-Hezbollah war began Oct. 8, 2023, a day after Hamas attacked southern Israel, after Hezbollah fired rockets into Israel in solidarity with Hamas. Israel launched a widespread bombardment of Lebanon two months ago that severely weakened Hezbollah, followed by a ground invasion.
That war, the most recent of several conflicts involving Hezbollah over the past four decades, killed more than 4,000 people in Lebanon, including hundreds of civilians, and caused an estimated $11 billion worth of destruction, according to the World Bank. In Israel, 127 people died, including 80 soldiers.
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