The Prime Minister's Office announced on Saturday night that in accordance with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's directive, the Rafah Crossing will remain closed until further notice.
The decision is intended to increase pressure on Hamas to fulfill its part of the agreed-upon outline and return all the bodies of the dead hostages in its possession.
According to the announcement, "its opening will be considered depending on how Hamas fulfills its part in returning the dead hostages and implementing the agreed-upon outline.".
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The move comes against the backdrop of repeated violations by Hamas regarding the return of the bodies of the 18 dead abductees who are still in the Gaza Strip.
Shortly after the Prime Minister's Office issued the announcement, the Hamas terrorist organization announced: The Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades will hand over the bodies of two Israeli prisoners, who were found in the Gaza Strip today, at 10:00 PM Gaza time.
Israel continues to demand that the terrorist organization fully comply with the agreement and return all the bodies.
However, Israeli officials are aware that Hamas does not have access to all the dead, but intelligence indicates that the organization is hiding bodies whose whereabouts are known.
Defense Minister Israel Katz wrote this evening: "Israel's security policy in Gaza is clear - the return of all abducted civilians, disarming Hamas and all means of producing weapons, demilitarizing Gaza by destroying the terror tunnels and all terror infrastructure, strict supervision of the crossings and the Philadelphia route to prevent the smuggling of weapons, IDF deployment on the Yellow Line with over 50% from Gaza - while marking the line and strictly enforcing it to prevent approaching and crossing, firing against any threat and firing at IDF soldiers.".
Meanwhile, US Vice President J.D. Vance is expected to arrive in Israel next week - on his first official visit since taking office at the beginning of the year.
Vance is expected to arrive on Monday, along with White House Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff. The two officials are expected to visit the region to discuss implementing the next steps in the ceasefire agreement with Hamas.
Vance and Witkoff are scheduled to promote President Donald Trump's 20-point peace plan for Gaza. The visit will focus on moving to the second phase of the plan, which includes the establishment of an interim administration under an International Council for Reconstruction and Security.
In addition, the ceasefire implementation mechanism is expected to officially begin operating at the end of this week. The commander of the US Central Command, led by General Cooper, will also arrive in Israel to implement it.
It is expected to be located in a civilian facility near the Gaza Strip, most likely in Ashkelon.
