Israel refuses to open Gaza's Rafah crossing as Netanyahu says war will end after Hamas disarms

Netanyahu said that the completion of the second phase of the ceasefire was essential to ending the fighting in Gaza.

Israel on Saturday said the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt will remain closed “until further notice”.

The Israeli foreign ministry had earlier said the Rafah crossing would likely open on Sunday.(REUTERS)

This comes even as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated that the war in Gaza would end only after Hamas disarms, AFP reported.

Netanyahu said that the completion of the second phase of the ceasefire was essential to ending the fighting in Gaza. “Phase B also involves the disarming of Hamas -- or more precisely, the demilitarisation of the Gaza Strip, following the stripping of Hamas of its weapons,” the Israeli PM said.

He added that when that is “successfully completed”, the war would end “hopefully in an easy way, but if not, in a hard way.”

Netanyahu's statement came even as the armed wing of Hamas, the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, said they would hand over remains of two more hostages on Saturday night.

Meanwhile, the Israeli military said a Red Cross team was on its wayto receive "several" bodies just before 11:00 PM (2000 GMT, according to AFP.

Reopening of Rafah depends on return of hostage bodies, says Israeli PM's office

The reopening of the Rafah crossing would depend on how Hamas fulfills the ceasefire condition of returning the mortal remains of all 28 deceased Israeli hostages, a statement by Netanyahu's office said, according to the Associated Press.

The Palestinian embassy in Egypt had earlier said that the region's sole gateway to the outside world would reopen Monday. The Israeli foreign ministry had also said the crossing would likely open on Sunday.

Hamas has till now handed over 10 hostages' bodies, with the Palestinian group saying it would return two more bodies Saturday night, without identifying them, AP reported.

The handing over of the hostages and the reopening of Rafah crossing for delivery of aid into the Gaza Strip are among the key points in the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.