Spain, Morocco Reopen Land Borders after Two-year Closure

People arrive in Fnideq after the border with the Spanish enclave of Ceuta reopens after two years' closure due to Covid and a diplomatic row FADEL SENNA AFP
People arrive in Fnideq after the border with the Spanish enclave of Ceuta reopens after two years' closure due to Covid and a diplomatic row FADEL SENNA AFP
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Spain, Morocco Reopen Land Borders after Two-year Closure

People arrive in Fnideq after the border with the Spanish enclave of Ceuta reopens after two years' closure due to Covid and a diplomatic row FADEL SENNA AFP
People arrive in Fnideq after the border with the Spanish enclave of Ceuta reopens after two years' closure due to Covid and a diplomatic row FADEL SENNA AFP

Morocco and Spain have reopened the land borders between the north African country and the Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla, two years after they were shut due to Covid restrictions and a major diplomatic row.

The enclaves on the Mediterranean coast in northern Morocco have the European Union's only land borders with Africa, said AFP.

The gates opened shortly after 11:00 pm local time (2200 GMT) on Monday night, letting dozens of cars and queues of pedestrians pass in both directions.

At the Fnideq border post, smiles lit up the faces of the travelers crossing to see their families on the Moroccan side.

"I was stuck for two years in Ceuta, I'm very happy to be back home," said Nourredine.

"I am happy that Morocco and Spain have restored their relations, it allows us to see our families," said one man in his sixties.

The reopening of the borders of the two enclaves initially remains limited to residents of Europe's open-borders Schengen area and their family members.

It will be expanded to cross-border workers after May 31.

The local economies on both sides of the borders depend on the crossing of people and goods.

The Ceuta and Melilla crossings were closed during the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic in March 2020.

The borders became the focus of a major dispute last year, when Madrid allowed the leader of a Western Saharan independence movement to be treated for Covid-19 in a Spanish hospital.

In March this year, Spain moved to end the diplomatic crisis with Morocco by changing its decades-long stance of neutrality and backing the kingdom's autonomy plan for the Western Sahara, which Rabat insists must remain under its sovereignty.

Maritime travel between the two countries resumed on April 12.

Following their reconciliation, Morocco and Spain have committed to strengthening cooperation on irregular migration.

Morocco, which is one of Spain's major trade partners, plays a significant role in controlling the flow of migrants towards Europe.



52 Palestinians Including Children Killed in Israeli Airstrikes in Gaza

Palestinians inspect the destruction at a makeshift displacement camp following a reported incursion a day earlier by Israeli tanks in the area in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza strip on July 11, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
Palestinians inspect the destruction at a makeshift displacement camp following a reported incursion a day earlier by Israeli tanks in the area in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza strip on July 11, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
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52 Palestinians Including Children Killed in Israeli Airstrikes in Gaza

Palestinians inspect the destruction at a makeshift displacement camp following a reported incursion a day earlier by Israeli tanks in the area in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza strip on July 11, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
Palestinians inspect the destruction at a makeshift displacement camp following a reported incursion a day earlier by Israeli tanks in the area in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza strip on July 11, 2025. (Photo by AFP)

Israeli airstrikes killed at least 28 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, including four children, hospital officials said Saturday. Also, 24 others were fatally shot on their way to aid distribution sites.

The children and two women were among at least 13 people who were killed in Deir al-Balah, in central Gaza, after Israeli airstrikes pounded the area starting late Friday, officials in Al-Aqsa Martyr's Hospital said. Another four people were killed in strikes near a fuel station, and 15 others died in Israeli airstrikes in Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, according to Nasser Hospital.

The Israeli military said in a statement that over the past 48 hours, troops struck approximately 250 targets in the Gaza Strip, including militants, booby-trapped structures, weapons storage facilities, anti-tank missile launch posts, sniper posts, tunnels and additional Hamas infrastructure sites. The military did not immediately respond to The Associated Press' request for comment on the civilian deaths.

The Hamas-led group killed some 1,200 people in their Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel and abducted 251. They still hold 50 hostages, less than half of them believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals.

Israel’s offensive has killed over 57,000 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The ministry, which is under Gaza’s Hamas-run government, doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count. The UN and other international organizations see its figures as the most reliable statistics on war casualties.

US President Donald Trump has said that he is closing in on another ceasefire agreement that would see more hostages released and potentially wind down the war. But after two days of talks this week with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu there were no signs of a breakthrough.