Italy says monitoring mission, which was halted when Hamas seized control of Strip in 2007, 'was launched at the request of Israel and the PA'

The EU’s top diplomat has said the civilian mission can play a “decisive role” in supporting the Gaza ceasefire. Euronews breaks down what we know about its mandate and operations. View on euronews

The European Union will restart a civilian mission to monitor the border crossing between Gaza and Egypt at Rafah, the bloc’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Monday.

Everyone agrees that EUBAM Rafah can play a decisive role in supporting the ceasefire," said EU High Representative Kaja Kallas.

For the EU Border Assistance Mission in Rafah to effectively restart it needed a cessation of hostilities between terrorist organisation Hamas and Israel, which happened on 15 January when the two parties to the conflict signed a ceasefire, which then entered into force on 19 January.

Brussels, Jan 27 (EFE).- The European Union Monday agreed to deploy forces at Gaza’s border with Egypt to bolster a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas while reiterating its support for a two-state solution as the foundation for lasting peace in the region.

The 27-nation bloc set up a civilian mission in 2005 to help monitor the crossing, but it was suspended two years later after the militant Islamist group Hamas took control of Gaza.

People stand next to trucks carrying humanitarian aid at the Rafah border crossing to enter the Gaza Strip, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in Rafah, Egypt, January 28, 2025. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's interior and foreign ministries are in consultations about sending a German contingent to the European Union's civilian mission to monitor the border crossing between Gaza and Egypt at Rafah,