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Rafah Crossing Opened for Palestinians Stranded by Outbreak

An Egyptian soldier keeps watch at the closed Rafah border crossing, between southern Gaza Strip and Egypt November 6, 2014. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa
An Egyptian soldier keeps watch at the closed Rafah border crossing, between southern Gaza Strip and Egypt November 6, 2014. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa
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Rafah Crossing Opened for Palestinians Stranded by Outbreak

An Egyptian soldier keeps watch at the closed Rafah border crossing, between southern Gaza Strip and Egypt November 6, 2014. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa
An Egyptian soldier keeps watch at the closed Rafah border crossing, between southern Gaza Strip and Egypt November 6, 2014. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa

Egypt has reopened its border crossing with the Gaza Strip after nearly three weeks, allowing Palestinians stranded by the coronavirus pandemic to return home.

Gaza's Hamas-run government also temporarily reopened the crossing with Egypt.

One-way traffic into the coastal enclave through the Rafah crossing would be allowed for the coming four days, Gaza's interior ministry said Monday.

All those returning would be put into compulsory 21-day quarantine which could be extended, interior ministry spokesman Iyad al-Bozm said.

The crossing will remain open for four days to allow for the return of some 2,000 Palestinians from Egypt.

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Türkiye, Syria Sign Defense Cooperation MoU after Ankara Talks

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani, accompanied by General Intelligence Service Director Hussein Al-Salama and Defence Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra, meets with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan in Ankara, Turkey, August 13, 2025. Turkish Foreign Ministry/Handout via REUTERS
Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani, accompanied by General Intelligence Service Director Hussein Al-Salama and Defence Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra, meets with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan in Ankara, Turkey, August 13, 2025. Turkish Foreign Ministry/Handout via REUTERS
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Türkiye, Syria Sign Defense Cooperation MoU after Ankara Talks

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani, accompanied by General Intelligence Service Director Hussein Al-Salama and Defence Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra, meets with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan in Ankara, Turkey, August 13, 2025. Turkish Foreign Ministry/Handout via REUTERS
Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani, accompanied by General Intelligence Service Director Hussein Al-Salama and Defence Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra, meets with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan in Ankara, Turkey, August 13, 2025. Turkish Foreign Ministry/Handout via REUTERS

The defense ministers of Türkiye and Syria signed a memorandum of understanding on military training and consultancy after talks in Ankara on Wednesday, Türkiye's defense ministry said.

The neighbors had been negotiating a comprehensive military cooperation agreement for months, after the ousting of Bashar al-Assad in December.

Also, speaking at a news conference in Ankara with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan accused Israel and the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF, of undermining the country’s efforts to reestablish itself after more than a decade of civil war.
He said Israel had “fueled certain difficulties” in Syria and warned that Israeli security "cannot be achieved through undermining the security of your neighbors."
“To the contrary, you should make sure your neighboring countries are prosperous and secure. If you try to destabilize these countries, if you take steps to that end, this could trigger other crises in the region.”
Most recently, hundreds were killed in clashes in the southern province of Sweida between government forces and local Bedouin tribesmen on one side and fighters from the Druze minority on the other.