The European Union on Friday started its support mission for the reopening of the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip.
The mission “will support Palestinian border personnel and allow the transfer of individuals out of Gaza, including those who need medical care,” EU top diplomat Kaja Kallas wrote on X.
EU border guards are deployed at the crossing at the request of Palestinians and Israelis, Kallas added.
The EU mission at Rafah was set up in 2005 to help the Palestinians manage the border crossing. It was however suspended when Hamas took power in the Gaza Strip in 2007.
The reopening of the Rafah crossing is part of a three-phase ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel, and should enable significant amounts of humanitarian aid to reach Gaza.
According to the Egyptian Red Cross, 3,000 lorries of humanitarian aid have been prepared in Sinai for entry into Gaza via the Rafah crossing. Hundreds of them are said to be already in the transit area.
The first EU border guards to be deployed come from Italy, Spain and France, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said earlier this week.
In Berlin, work is under way to adapt a Cabinet decision from 2005 to allow the deployment of German armed forces to Rafah.
The initial mandate from 20 years ago only provided for the deployment of unarmed border guards. In the current situation, however, this is considered too dangerous.
A view inside Rafah Border Crossing between Egypt and Palestinian territories. A newly brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip took effect on Sunday, after being delayed by several hours due to a dispute over the first hostages to be released under the deal. Gehad Hamdy/dpa
