Arab, Muslim states 'deeply concerned' by Israel's 'exit-only' plan for Gaza-Egypt border

Eight Arab and Muslim countries on Friday expressed "deep concern" after Israeli authorities said they would open the Rafah border crossing to allow Palestinians in Gaza to leave the territory.

In a joint statement, the foreign ministers of Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates warned that the decision was aimed to expelling Palestinians from their land.

The diplomats expressed "deep concern regarding the Israeli statements concerned the opening of the Rafah crossing in one direction, with the aim of transferring residents of the Gaza Strip into the Arab Republic of Egypt".

"The ministers underscore their absolute rejection of any attempts to expel the Palestinian people from their land," they said, calling on Israel to open the crossing in both directions.

Israeli military body COGAT said Wednesday it would soon open the crossing to Palestinians wanting to leave Gaza but would keep it closed to people trying to enter the territory.

It said Palestinians leaving Gaza would be "facilitated through co-ordination with Egypt, following security approval by Israel and under the supervision of the European Union mission".

Egypt denied working with Israel to re-open the border and urged Israel to open it in both directions.

"If an agreement is reached to open the crossing, it will be in both directions, to enter and exist the Gaza Strip in accordance with the plan of US President Donald Trump," the State Information Service said.

Ministers in the Israeli government have repeatedly voiced ambitions to ethnically cleanse Gaza's 2.2 million inhabitants since the Hamas-led attack on Israel on 7 October 2023.

Far-right politicians and lawmakers in Benjamin Netanyahu's centre-right Likud party have called for the annexation of Gaza, the expulsion of the population and the reconstruction of Jewish settlements.

The border has been mostly closed since May 2024 when Israeli forces seized control of the crossing.

It is supposed to be reopened under the US-backed ceasefire that came into effect on 10 October but Israeli officials say they will not fully reopen it until Hamas releases all the remaining captives.

Hamas has released all living captives and all but two of the 28 deceased hostages during the ceasefire.

Palestinian authorities and the Red Cross have led search operations to recover the bodies buried under the rubble.

Earlier this week the group's armed wing transferred what it said was the remains of one of the two remaining captives to Israel. A forensics examination later determined that the remains did not belong to one of the captives.

Trump's Gaza peace plan said that "opening the Rafah crossing in both directions will be subject to the same mechanism" agreed during the first ceasefire in January 2025.

That agreement contained provisions for the transfer of civilians and the wounded after captives were released but did not mention reopening the crossing into Gaza.