JERUSALEM: Israel will reopen the crossing on the Israeli-controlled border between Jordan and the occupied West Bank to humanitarian aid trucks destined for Gaza for the first time since late September, an Israeli official said on Tuesday.

“Following the understandings and a directive of the political echelon, starting tomorrow (Wednesday) the transfer of goods and aid from Jordan to the area of Judea and Samaria and to the Gaza Strip will be permitted through the Allenby Crossing,” an Israeli official said in a statement, using the Israeli Biblical term for the West Bank.

“All aid trucks destined for the Gaza Strip will proceed under escort and security, following a thorough security inspection,” the official added.

Israel closed the crossing, also known as the King Hussein Bridge, in September. The crossing in the Jordan Valley reopened to travellers a few days later, but not to humanitarian aid destined for the Gaza Strip, devastated by more than two years of war.

Since the closure at Allenby, Jordan said it had been able to send some aid to Gaza via the Sheikh Hussein crossing, north of the occupied West Bank.

Hamas says Gaza ceasefire plan cannot proceed to its second phase as long as Israeli violations persist

The Allenby crossing is the only international gateway for Palestinians from the occupied West Bank that does not require entering Israel, which has occupied the territory since 1967.

Israeli continues ceasefire violations

In a related development, Hamas said on Tuesday that the Gaza ceasefire plan cannot proceed to its second phase as long as Israeli “violations” persist and called on mediators to pressure Israel to respect the agreement.

The US-sponsored ceasefire, in effect since October 10, halted the Israel-Hamas war, but it remains fragile as Israel and Hamas accuse each other almost daily of breaches.

Hamas political bureau member Hossam Badran accused Israel of failing to respect the Gaza ceasefire deal, noting that under its terms, Israel should have reopened the Rafah crossing with Egypt and increased the volume of aid entering the territory.

He urged the mediators, who include Egypt, Qatar and the US, to pressure Israel “to complete the implementation of the first phase of the ceasefire agreement”.

Under the terms of the deal, Palestinians committed to releasing the remaining 48 living and dead Israeli prisoners held in the territory. All of the prisoners have so far been released except for one body.

In exchange, Israel has released nearly 2,000 Palestinians in its custody and returned the bodies of hundreds of Palestinians.

The first phase of the truce also stipulates significantly more aid enter Gaza.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he expects the second phase of the deal to begin soon but Badran said it could not start “as long as the occupation (Israel) continues its violations”.

Under the initial steps of the ceasefire plan, Israeli troops withdrew to positions behind a so-called “Yellow Line” in Gaza, though they remain in control of more than half of the territory.

As Israel’s military chief, Lt Gen Eyal Zamir, was quoted as saying that the demarcation line was the “new border line”, Badran slammed the comments. “The statements… clearly reveal the criminal occupation’s lack of commitment to the ceasefire agreement,” he said.

The second stage of the truce plan concerns disarming Hamas, the further withdrawal of Israeli forces as a transitional authority is established, and the deployment of an international stabilisation force.

Meanwhile, a spokeswoman for the Israeli premier’s office said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet President Donald Trump in the United States on December 29.

It will be Netanyahu’s fifth visit to meet Trump in the US since the start of the year.

Published in Dawn, December 10th, 2025