TEL AVIV: Israel wants to restrict the number of Palestinians entering Gaza through the border crossing with Egypt to ensure that more are allowed out than in, three sources briefed on the matter said ahead of the border’s expected opening next week.
The head of a transitional Palestinian committee backed by the US to temporarily administer Gaza, Ali Shaath, announced on Thursday that the Rafah Border Crossing — effectively the sole route in or out of Gaza for nearly all of the more than 2 million people who live there — would open next week.
The border was supposed to have opened during the initial phase of President Donald Trump’s plan to end the war, under a ceasefire reached in October between Israel and Hamas.
Earlier this month, Washington announced that the plan had now moved into the second phase, under which Israel is expected to withdraw troops further from Gaza and Hamas is due to yield control of the territory’s administration. The Gaza side of the crossing has been under Israeli military control since 2024.
The three sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue, said it was still not clear how Israel planned to enforce limits on the number of Palestinians entering Gaza from Egypt, or what ratio of exits to entries it aimed to achieve.
Israeli officials have spoken in the past about encouraging Palestinians to emigrate from Gaza, although they deny intending to transfer the population out by force. Palestinians are highly sensitive to any suggestion that Gazans could be expelled, or that those who leave temporarily could be barred from returning.
The Rafah Crossing is expected to be staffed by Palestinians affiliated with the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority and monitored by EU personnel, as took place during an earlier, weeks-long ceasefire between Israel and Hamas early last year.
The Israeli prime minister’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment for this story. The military referred questions to the government, declining to comment.
The three sources said that Israel also wants to establish a military checkpoint inside Gaza near the border, through which all Palestinians entering or leaving would be required to pass and be subjected to Israeli security checks.
Two other sources also said that Israeli officials had insisted on setting up a military checkpoint in Gaza to screen Palestinians moving in and out.
The US Embassy in Israel did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether Washington supported Israel in limiting the number of Palestinians entering Gaza or setting up a checkpoint to screen those entering and leaving.
Under the initial phase of Trump’s plan, the Israeli military partially pulled back its forces within Gaza but retained control of 53 percent of the territory including the entire land border with Egypt. Nearly all of the territory’s population lives in the rest of Gaza, under Hamas control and mostly in makeshift tents or damaged buildings.
The sources said that it was not clear how individuals would be dealt with if they were blocked by Israel’s military from passing through its checkpoint, particularly those entering from Egypt.
The Israeli government has repeatedly objected to the opening of the border, with some officials saying Hamas must first return the body of an Israeli police officer held in Gaza, the final human remains of a hostage due to be transferred under the ceasefire’s first phase.
US officials in private say that Washington, not Israel, is driving the rollout of the president’s plan to end the war.
Israel aims to ensure more Palestinians are let out of Gaza than back in
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Israel aims to ensure more Palestinians are let out of Gaza than back in
- It was still not clear how Israel planned to enforce limits on the number of Palestinians entering Gaza from Egypt
- Sources said Israeli officials had insisted on setting up a military checkpoint in Gaza to screen Palestinians moving in and out
US condemns RSF drone attack on World Food Programme convoy in Sudan’s North Kordofan
- Denise Brown, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Sudan, also expresses concern over the drone attack
WASHINGTON: The US has condemned a drone attack by Rapid Support Forces on an aid convoy in Sudan’s North Kordofan state that killed one person and injured three others.
“The United States condemns the recent drone attack on a World Food Program convoy in North Kordofan transporting food to famine-stricken people which killed one and wounded many others,” US Senior Adviser for Arab and African Affairs Massad Boulos wrote on X.
“Destroying food intended for people in need and killing humanitarian workers is sickening,” the US envoy wrote.
“The Trump Administration has zero tolerance for this destruction of life and of U.S.-funded assistance; we demand accountability and extend our condolences to all those affected by these inexcusable events and terrible war,” he added.
The Sudan Doctors Network said the convoy was struck by RSF drones in the Allah Karim area as it headed toward displaced people in El-Obeid, the state capital, Anadolu Agency reported.
The network described the attack as a “clear violation of international humanitarian law,” warning that it undermines efforts to deliver life-saving aid to civilians amid worsening humanitarian conditions across the country.
There was no immediate comment from the rebel group.
The United States condemns the recent drone attack on a World Food Program convoy in North Kordofan transporting food to famine-stricken people which killed one and wounded many others. This follows an attack earlier this week in Blue Nile state that injured a @WFP staff member.…
— U.S. Senior Advisor for Arab and African Affairs (@US_SrAdvisorAF) February 6, 2026
Denise Brown, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Sudan, in a statement also expressed concern over the drone attack which hit the aid trucks in North Kordofan.
“I am deeply concerned by a drone attack earlier today on trucks contracted by the World Food Programme (WFP) in North Kordofan, the aftermath of which I came across a few hours later, as I left the state capital, El Obeid.”
“The trucks were en route from Kosti to deliver life-saving food assistance to displaced families near El Obeid when they were struck, tragically killing at least one individual and injuring many more. The trucks caught fire, destroying food commodities intended for life-saving humanitarian response.”
Brown added that “Humanitarian personnel, assets and supplies must be protected at all times. Attacks on aid operations undermine efforts to reach people facing hunger and displacement.”
“Safe and unimpeded humanitarian access remains critical to ensure assistance reaches the most vulnerable people across Sudan.”
Since April 2023, the conflict between Sudan’s army and the paramilitary forces has killed tens of thousands, displaced 11 million and which the UN has described as one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
An alert issued by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), confirmed famine conditions in El-Fasher and Kadugli, the capital of South Kordofan, about 800 kilometers to the east.
The IPC said that 20 more areas in Sudan’s Darfur and neighboring Kordofan were at risk of famine.
Of Sudan’s 18 states, the RSF controls all five states in the western Darfur region, except for parts of North Darfur that remain under army control. The army holds most areas of the remaining 13 states across the south, north, east and center of the country, including the capital, Khartoum.
The conflict between the army and the RSF, which erupted in April 2023, has killed thousands of people and displaced millions.
