Egypt pushing Israel to reopen Gaza's Rafah Crossing – report

Egypt is pressuring Israel to reopen the Rafah Crossing for the transfer of goods into the Gaza Strip, which is currently available only for pedestrian crossings, largely of Palestinians seeking medical attention in Egypt.

According to a report in Walla News, Egypt is trying to have goods transported into the Strip through the Rafah crossing, between Egypt and Gaza, instead of passing through the Kerem Shalom crossing and undergoing inspection by the Ministry of Defense, as has been the case since Israel seized Rafah in 2024, a move that was opposed by Egypt.

Israel has stopped multiple attempts to smuggle contraband items into the Strip through the inspection process at Kerem Shalom.

Currently, around 600 trucks per day enter the Gaza Strip through the Kerem Shalom crossing, carrying goods for the enclave, in addition to trucks bringing medical and humanitarian supplies.

Israel continues to coordinate the daily entry of 600 trucks into the Gaza Strip in accordance with existing agreements.

However, recent months show a decline in the volume of aid brought in by UN agencies and international organizations. They are currently responsible for only… pic.twitter.com/xKxB7rjo8i

— COGAT (@cogatonline) June 3, 2026

Some of the pressure has come from the Gaza Board of Peace, according to the report, which said the political echelon and the IDF are firmly opposed to such a move.

“There are no compromises on this issue. The position is clear and there is no intention to change it,” a security source told Walla.

Another security official told the news outlet that “one of the main lessons from October 7 is the issue of smuggling into the Gaza Strip, both above and below ground, and in the maritime space.”

The security source said that some of the smuggling activities were known to Israeli security organizations, while others were not.

Following the Israeli capture of Rafah, the IDF and Shin Bet have been conducting an extensive effort to locate and destroy any remaining Hamas terror infrastructure within the area, especially the tunnels used for smuggling goods and weapons into the Strip from Egypt.

At the same time, Israel is aware that Egyptian officials did not act to counter the smuggling, as many benefited from the illicit trade.

Additionally, the Egyptian government also benefited from taxes on imports from Egypt into Gaza. That tax revenue has dried up since Israel closed the Rafah crossing and only allowed goods to enter through Kerem Shalom.

The security source said Shin Bet has been petitioning the government to ban the use of drones in Israel's southern border area – except by security services – to counter a known smuggling network that uses drones to transport goods, weapons and drugs from Egypt into southern Israel.