By Palestine Chronicle Staff  

Netanyahu’s office said Israel “has agreed to a limited reopening of the Rafah Crossing for pedestrian passage only, subject to a full Israeli inspection mechanism.”

Far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir criticized what he described as “naivety” of US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, while Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called for imposing military rule in the Gaza Strip, according to Israeli media on Monday.

“We did great things like kill tens of thousands of terrorists, but we still haven’t completely eliminated Hamas,” Channel 12 quoted Ben-Gvir, leader of the Jewish Power party, as saying during a Security Cabinet meeting on Sunday evening, the Anadolu news agency reported.

Israel says it will reopen the Rafah crossing once the body of the last Israeli captive held in Gaza is recovered. The crossing will operate under full Israeli oversight and for the movement of people only, raising concerns it could be used to encourage Palestinians to leave. pic.twitter.com/fKOvk09gmD

— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) January 26, 2026

“We have to dismantle and disarm it. Enough with Kushner and Witkoff’s naivety — if Rafah Crossing opens, it will be a big mistake and a very bad message,” he said.

Opened for ‘Pedestrian Passage’ Only

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that he agrees to open the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt after completing the search for the remains of Sgt. Maj. Rani Gvili, the last Israeli captive in Gaza.

“As part of President Trump’s 20-point plan, Israel has agreed to a limited reopening of the Rafah Crossing for pedestrian passage only, subject to a full Israeli inspection mechanism,” the prime minister’s office said on X. The office said the reopening of the crossing “was conditioned” upon the return of all living captives “and a 100% effort by Hamas to locate and return all deceased captives.

The Prime Minister’s Office:
As part of President Trump’s 20-point plan, Israel has agreed to a limited reopening of the Rafah Crossing for pedestrian passage only, subject to a full Israeli inspection mechanism.

— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) January 25, 2026

Israel was supposed to reopen the crossing, a vital route for aid deliveries, in October under the ceasefire deal that took effect on October 10, but Tel Aviv has refused to do so.

Hamas Rejects Disarmament

The second phase of the ceasefire agreement began in mid-January and includes provisions related to disarming Hamas and other Palestinian factions in Gaza.

Hamas has rejected calls to surrender its weapons, proposing instead that they be “stored or frozen.” The group stresses that it is a resistance movement against Israel, which the UN considers the occupying power in Palestinian territories.

Israeli Minister Calls for Occupying Gaza as Witkoff Describes Talks on Trump Plan as ‘Constructive’

Sunday’s meeting followed talks between Netanyahu and both Kushner and Witkoff to review the plan, which several Israeli ministers oppose, Channel 12 said.

Smotrich, leader of the Religious Zionism party, warned during the meeting that failure to impose military rule in Gaza would lead to the establishment of a Palestinian state.

“If we do not control there with military rule—the meaning is that we will get a Palestinian state,” he claimed.

Calls against PA

Settlement Affairs Minister Orit Strock, also from the Religious Zionism party, said Israel was “handing Gaza to the Palestinian Authority with the blood of our children,” according to the report.

“This cabinet will ultimately make a decision to send our soldiers to fight Hamas because no one else will do it—and then what will we tell them?”

Egypt Calls for Israeli Withdrawal from Gaza as Talks Intensify on Reopening Rafah

Transportation Minister Miri Regev of Netanyahu’s Likud party echoed a similar view, saying that Israel must ensure that Gaza is governed neither by Hamas nor by the Palestinian Authority.

On Sunday, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty called for Israel’s full withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and the reopening of the Rafah border crossing, stressing the need to implement the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement.

Ongoing Ceasefire Violations

The ceasefire agreement has not halted Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza, which began in October 2023 and has killed more than 71,600 Palestinians, most of them women and children, and injured over 171,000, according to Palestinian health authorities.

Israel has killed 486 Palestinians since the ceasefire began and injured 1,341 others.

Israeli Attacks Kill Palestinian, Injure Child in Gaza as Ceasefire Violations Persist

Despite the ceasefire framework, Gaza remains under severe restrictions, and reported violations have continued. Humanitarian agencies say that without the sustained reopening of the Rafah crossing and the easing of Israeli controls, humanitarian access, medical evacuations, and reconstruction efforts will remain severely limited.

(Anadolu, PC)