The Israeli government announced on Saturday, October 18, that the reopening of the Rafah crossing, which connects the Gaza Strip to Egypt, has been suspended indefinitely.

This decision, which seriously hinders the humanitarian effort, comes at a time when international organizations are intensifying their calls for the reopening of this route, which is essential for the delivery of vital aid.

In a statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office made it clear that the reopening of the crossing would be conditional on Hamas's conduct: it would be "considered based on how Hamas fulfills its obligations to return hostages and the bodies of the deceased, and to implement the agreed framework."

"All the families of the hostages have been informed and our hearts go out to them at this difficult time. Efforts to locate our hostages continue and will not cease until the last hostage is released," the statement said.

The vital corridor of humanitarian aid

Located on the border between Gaza and the Egyptian Sinai, the Rafah crossing is the only access point to the outside world not under direct Israeli control. Its closure extends an already severe blockade, plunging the 2.3 million Gazans, most of whom depend on foreign aid for survival, into an acute humanitarian crisis.

United Nations agencies and various international NGOs point out that the impossibility of bringing in food, medicine and fuel from Egypt is dramatically exacerbating shortages in hospitals and displacement camps.

Egyptian officials stressed that the closure stems from Israeli control over the Gazan side of the crossing, with the Sinai side, they said, remaining open. "Israel holds the key to the Rafah crossing," they said.

Security and diplomatic issues

This Israeli stance could exacerbate regional diplomatic tensions. Egypt, cautious about the possible influx of wounded and refugees, is seeking to prevent its territory from becoming a disorganized transit zone.

Israel takes full responsibility for the closure, which it exploits by linking it to the release of the hostages. The Netanyahu government remains inflexible, stating that it will only reopen Rafah in exchange for "tangible progress" in the negotiations.

Caught between Israel's security imperatives and the humanitarian emergency, Gaza's civilian population remains trapped. The fate of the Rafah crossing symbolizes the devastating complexity of the conflict and the exorbitant human cost it imposes on non-combatants.