Israel closes all crossings on the border with Gaza and isolates the West Bank
Israel has closed all checkpoints on the border with the Gaza Strip and imposed a regime of complete isolation on the Palestinian territories in the West Bank of the Jordan River on October 7 in connection with the third anniversary of the Hamas militants' attack on Israeli territory.
This was reported by the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT).
"In accordance with the security situation assessment and the decision of the defense minister <...> on October 7 a regime of complete isolation has been imposed in the area of Judea and Samaria (the Israeli designation for the West Bank of the Jordan River - TASS), and checkpoints on the border with the Gaza Strip have been closed in connection with the anniversary of the events of October 7 [2023]. Humanitarian aid will not enter the Gaza Strip," the statement says. Israel also closed all checkpoints on the border with the Palestinian enclave and imposed a regime of isolation on the West Bank of the Jordan River on October 5, when state memorial ceremonies were held in the Jewish state.
Early in the morning of October 7, 2023, armed members of Hamas and other Palestinian groups invaded Israeli territory from Gaza. Their incursion was accompanied by the killing of residents of border settlements and the seizure of about 250 hostages. The radicals called this attack a response to the actions of the Israeli authorities against the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. Israel announced a complete blockade of Gaza and began launching retaliatory strikes on it and on certain areas of Lebanon and Syria, after which it launched a ground operation in the Palestinian enclave, the active phase of which continued intermittently for almost two years.
On October 9, 2025, Israel and Hamas, through the mediation of Egypt, Qatar, the United States and Turkey, agreed on the implementation of the first stage of the peace plan presented by U.S. President Donald Trump. The following day, a cease-fire regime took effect in the Gaza Strip.
In accordance with the agreement, Israeli troops withdrew to the so-called yellow line, retaining control over more than 50% of the enclave's territory. The second phase of the deal envisages the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the enclave, the deployment of an international stabilization force, as well as the start of work by new structures to govern the sector, but in order to move to this stage Israel demands that the Hamas units first be completely disarmed, which has not happened so far.
