Leak of a Humanitarian Annex to the Gaza Agreement Including the Reopening of the Rafah Crossing from Both Sides
Israeli media outlets have published what they claim to be the “humanitarian annex” of the Gaza ceasefire agreement.
According to the document leaked by the Israeli Army Radio, Israel will, for the first time in two years, allow Palestinians from Gaza who are currently outside the territory to return through the Rafah crossing.
So far, neither Israel nor the mediators have officially confirmed this annex, as broadcast by Army Radio:
- Entry of 600 aid trucks daily into Gaza under the supervision of the United Nations, accredited international organizations, and the private sector.
These trucks will carry food supplies, medical equipment, shelter materials, fuel, and cooking gas. - Truck movement will be unrestricted from the southern to the northern parts of Gaza through two main routes: Salah al-Din and Al-Rashid.
- Gaza residents will be permitted to travel abroad via the Rafah crossing, following the same mechanism established in the January 2025 agreement, subject to Israeli approval and monitored by an EU mission.
There will be no limits on the number of travelers departing Gaza. - For the first time since October 7 (the date of the Hamas attack that triggered the war), residents of Gaza who left the enclave will be allowed to return through Rafah.
The return will commence once a coordination mechanism is agreed upon with Egypt, defining the criteria, the number of returnees, and the operational framework.
Entry of Humanitarian Aid
On Thursday, the Egyptian Red Crescent announced that 153 aid trucks were heading toward Gaza via the Rafah crossing following the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.
Two Red Crescent sources confirmed that “153 aid trucks entered through the side route of Rafah crossing, on their way to the Kerem Shalom crossing for delivery into Gaza.”
The convoy includes 80 trucks belonging to the United Nations, 17 from the Egyptian Red Crescent, and 21 Qatari trucks.
The Gaza Agreement
On Thursday, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that Israel and Hamas had agreed, during indirect negotiations held in Egypt this week, to implement the first phase of his peace plan for Gaza.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump wrote that the agreement “means all hostages will be released very soon, and Israel will withdraw its forces to the agreed line — the first steps toward a strong, lasting, and eternal peace.”
Article 8 of Trump’s Gaza peace plan stipulates that the opening of the Rafah crossing in both directions will follow the same mechanism outlined in the January 19, 2025, agreement.
On Friday, the Israeli army began a gradual withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, following the Netanyahu government’s approval of the first phase of the ceasefire deal.
