UN Security Council representatives, including Russian Ambassador to the United Nations Vasily Nebenzya, will visit Rafah checkpoint on the Gaza Border next week, a UN source told Sputnik.
"A delegation of UN Security Council representatives will visit the Rafah checkpoint on Monday. Among them, as expected, will be the permanent representative of Russia to the United Nations Vasily Nebenzya," the source said.
The Rafah border crossing is the only point of entry into Gaza from Egypt. Foreign citizens have been allowed to leave the conflict-torn Gaza Strip through the checkpoint since November 1, but some obstacles periodically arise for border crossings.
On October 7, the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas launched a surprise large-scale rocket attack on Israel from the Gaza Strip, breaching the border and killing and taking captives in nearby Israeli military sites and communities. The movement said its operation, Al-Aqsa Flood, was in response to Israeli provocations and occupation of Palestinian territories.
Israel launched retaliatory strikes and ordered a complete blockade of the Gaza Strip, home to more than 2 million people, cutting off supplies of water, food and fuel. On October 27, Israel launched a large-scale ground incursion into Gaza, ostensibly to eliminate Hamas fighters and rescue hostages.
Later, Qatar mediated a deal between Israel and Hamas on a temporary truce and the exchange of some of the prisoners and hostages, as well as the delivery of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip. The truce was extended several times, but on Friday, the fighting was resumed.