Egypt denies coordinating with Israel to open Rafah crossing for Gazans' exit

CAIRO, Dec. 3 (Xinhua) -- Egypt's State Information Service (SIS) said Wednesday that an official source has denied the country's coordination with Israel on opening the Rafah crossing soon for Gazans' exit into Egypt.

"When an agreement is reached to open the crossing, passage through it would be in both directions -- for entering and exiting the Gaza Strip," based on the U.S.-backed peace plan, the SIS said in a statement.

Earlier in the day, Israel's office of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, which oversees the entry of aid into Gaza, said on social media platform X that the crossing will open "in the coming days exclusively for the exit of residents from the Gaza Strip to Egypt."

Residents cleared by Israel to leave will cross through Rafah under a mechanism coordinated with Egypt and supervised by the EU mission, similar to the procedure used in January, the office said.

The move is being carried out "in accordance with the ceasefire agreement and a directive of the political echelon," it added.

Previously, the Israeli government had reiterated that the crossing would not open until further notice, citing Hamas' delays in returning bodies of deceased hostages. Both Israel and Hamas have been trading accusations of violating the fragile ceasefire taking effect on Oct. 10.

At least 360 Palestinians have been killed and 922 others injured by Israeli attacks since Oct. 11, Gaza's health authorities said Wednesday, bringing the overall death toll from Israeli attacks since October 2023 to 70,117, with 170,999 others injured. Enditem