ISRAELI OCCUPIED GAZA, 03 Feb. - (ANA) - While the Rafah crossing opened on Monday, foreign journalists and aid trucks have still not been allowed through, as Israel continues to violate the truce.

 

An Israeli drone on Monday dropped a bomb on a school in north Gaza’s Jabalia, killing a man, while gunfire also targeted and killed a three-year-old child in the al-Mawasi area of Khan Younis, in the latest breach of a truce in place since October.

 

Israeli forces also opened fire in the eastern parts of Juhr ad-Dik at dawn on Monday, as some injured Palestinians prepared to leave the enclave via the recently reopened Rafah crossing.

 

Reports in local Palestinian media reported that Israeli forces targeted tents housing displaced Palestinians east of Jabalia on Monday morning, while heavy gunfire was reported in areas east of Khan Younis.

 

The European Union stated the attacks, saying Israel had breached the ceasefire and calling on it to respect international law.

 

"Hundreds of Palestinians were killed and injured as a result of Israeli attacks over the weekend," Haja Habib, the European Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness and Crisis Management, said on X.

 

Since the truce was agreed in October, Israeli forces have also been demolishing buildings across Gaza daily, with reports on Monday saying the army levelled residential homes in Rafah. 

 

Meanwhile, the Rafah border-crossing opened in both directions on Monday, following its closure for over a year and a half by Israel.

 

The crossing has opened for limited pedestrian passage, but not aid trucks, despite the terms of the ceasefire agreement stating that aid must be allowed into the enclave daily.

 

Those entering or leaving Gaza must have prior approval from Egypt, which will send the names to Israel’s Shin Bet intelligence service for clearance.

 

Israeli forces will be monitoring the exit of Palestinians remotely through facial recognition software, reports added.

 

Al-Araby Al-Jadeed’s Gaza correspondent said that while the crossing had opened, no party in Gaza has yet been informed of the operating mechanism.

 

However, Palestinians returning to Gaza through the crossing are expected to be monitored by a team of Palestinian Authority and EU representatives before undergoing a security screening at an Israeli checkpoint.

 

Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem said the opening of the crossing is the right of Palestinians and should have been done during the first phase of the ceasefire agreement.

 

"The occupation [Israel] delayed the opening of the crossing and arbitrarily linked it to the handover of the body of the last Israeli soldier in Gaza," he said.

 

"Our people have the right to enter and exist freely, and this right is guaranteed by international laws and resolutions," he added.

 

The latest developments come as Israel still refuses to allow foreign journalists into the enclave and has ordered international charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) to cease its operation in the enclave by 28 February.

 

The decision comes after the aid organisation refused to provide a list of its Palestinian staff, due to concerns over the safety of their employees.

 

"Israel has no authority to block anyone from entering the Palestinian territory it illegally occupies. Stop normalising the illegal occupation by bending to its diktats. Respect the ICJ deliberation: Force Israel to end the occupation," Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur for the Occupied Palestinian Territories, said in a post on X.   - (ANA) -

 

AB/ANA/03 February 2026 - - -