JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel said Friday that it will reopen the pedestrian border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt over the weekend, marking an important step forward for U.S. President Donald Trump’s Gaza ceasefire plan.
COGAT, the Israeli military body in charge of coordinating aid to Gaza, said in a statement that starting on Sunday a “limited movement of people only” would be allowed through the Rafah crossing, Gaza’s main gateway to the outside world.
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Palestinians mourn over the bodies of people who were killed in an Israeli strike, before their funeral at Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Friday, Jan. 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Palestinians mourn over the body of Waleed Darweesh, 20, who was killed in an Israeli strike, during his funeral at Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Friday, Jan. 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Trucks line up to enter the Egyptian gate of the Rafah crossing, heading for inspection by Israeli authorities before entering the Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Jan.27, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohamed Arafat)
A truck enters the Egyptian gate of the Rafah crossing, heading for inspection by Israeli authorities before entering the Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohamed Arafat)
The announcement followed statements from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Ali Shaath, newly appointed to head the Palestinian administrative committee governing Gaza’s daily affairs, that it would likely open soon.
While COGAT said the passage will open in both directions on Sunday, Shaath said the first day will be a trial for operations and that travel both ways will start Monday.
Israel as of Friday agreed to allow up to 150 people to leave each day — 50 medical patients with two family members, an official familiar with the situation told The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were discussing diplomatic talks. Up to 50 people who fled during the war can return daily, the source said.
Roughly 20,000 sick and wounded Palestinians need treatment outside Gaza, according to the territory’s health ministry. Gaza’s health system was decimated in the war, rendering advanced surgical procedures out of reach.
COGAT said both Israel and Egypt will vet individuals for exit and entry through the crossing, which will be supervised by European Union border patrol agents. In addition to screenings at the crossing, Palestinians leaving and returning will be screened by Israel in the adjacent corridor, which remains under Israeli military control.
The crossing has been under a near complete closure since Israel seized it in May 2024, saying the step was part of a strategy to halt cross-border arms smuggling by Hamas. It was briefly opened for the evacuation of medical patients during a short-lived ceasefire in early 2025.
Israel had resisted reopening the crossing, but the recovery of the remains of the last hostage in Gaza on Monday cleared the way to move forward. A day later, Netanyahu said the crossing would soon open in a limited and controlled fashion.
Thousands of Palestinians inside Gaza are trying to leave the war-battered territory, while tens of thousands who fled the territory during the heaviest fighting say they want to return home.
The reopening is one of the first steps in the second phase of last year's U.S.-brokered ceasefire agreement, which includes challenging issues ranging from demilitarizing Gaza to putting in place an alternative government to oversee rebuilding the mostly destroyed enclave.
Netanyahu said this week that Israel's focus is on disarming Hamas and destroying its remaining tunnels. Without these steps, he said that there would be no reconstruction in Gaza, a stance that could make Israel’s control over Rafah a key point of leverage.
Palestinians in Gaza on Friday mourned friends and relatives who died earlier this week in Israeli strikes, which have slowed but not stopped since the return of the remains of the final hostage held in the territory.
Three Palestinians were laid to rest in traditional Islamic funeral rites. Men gathered to pay their final respects, carrying the shrouded bodies through the streets before praying over them.
Israel’s military said four people were killed in airstrikes Friday in central Gaza, saying they were armed and approaching troops near the ceasefire line dividing Israeli-held areas and most of Gaza’s Palestinian population.
The most recent deaths Friday are on top of the 492 Palestinians killed since the ceasefire began in October, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The ministry doesn’t distinguish between civilians and combatants in its figures. It maintains detailed casualty records that are seen as generally reliable by U.N. agencies and independent experts.
Associated Press journalists Josef Federman in Jerusalem and Toqa Ezzidin in Cairo contributed to this report.
Find more of AP’s coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war
Palestinians mourn over the bodies of people who were killed in an Israeli strike, before their funeral at Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Friday, Jan. 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Palestinians mourn over the body of Waleed Darweesh, 20, who was killed in an Israeli strike, during his funeral at Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Friday, Jan. 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Trucks line up to enter the Egyptian gate of the Rafah crossing, heading for inspection by Israeli authorities before entering the Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Jan.27, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohamed Arafat)
A truck enters the Egyptian gate of the Rafah crossing, heading for inspection by Israeli authorities before entering the Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohamed Arafat)
Charlotte's surge to at least the play-in tournament and possibly the playoffs in the Eastern Conference has been fueled in large part by the 3-point shot.
And by season's end, it's well within reach that the top two 3-point shooters in the NBA this season — at least in terms of makes — both might be wearing Hornets uniforms.
Charlotte rookie Kon Knueppel leads the NBA with his Hornets-record 261 made 3s so far this season, and LaMelo Ball is currently third in the league with 243 makes from beyond the arc. Between them: the Los Angeles Lakers' Luka Doncic, who is set to miss some time with a hamstring injury.
Knueppel already has the NBA record for 3s made by a rookie as well.
“He definitely needs to celebrate,” Hornets coach Charles Lee said.
If Knueppel and Ball finish 1-2 in the final standings for made 3s, they would become the second set of teammates in NBA history to hold down the top two spots on that list for a full season. The other, as one would likely guess, were the “Splash Brothers” — Golden State's Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, who finished first and second in the season standings in four consecutive seasons from 2013-14 through 2016-17 (and nearly did it in 2012-13 as well).
Other pairings have come close. Antoine Walker and Paul Pierce were second and third in made 3s for Boston in 2001-02 (behind Ray Allen, the then-future Celtic who was playing for Milwaukee at the time). And in 1992-93, Phoenix's Dan Majerle tied Indiana's Reggie Miller for the made-3s title, with Suns teammate Danny Ainge finishing third.
Here's what we know so far regarding the NBA playoff field for this season.
— Eastern Conference playoff teams: Detroit, Boston, New York, Cleveland are in. At this point, Atlanta and Philadelphia would get the other two guaranteed spots but those are not clinched.
— East play-in teams: Nobody is locked into the play-in yet, but entering Friday, the four teams headed there are Toronto, Charlotte, Orlando and Miami.
— East eliminated teams: Milwaukee, Chicago, Indiana, Brooklyn and Washington.
— Western Conference playoff teams: Oklahoma City, San Antonio, the Los Angeles Lakers, Denver and Houston are in. Minnesota is likely to grab the sixth and final guaranteed spot.
— West play-in teams: Phoenix is probably going to the play-in tournament. Portland, the Los Angeles Clippers and Golden State definitely are.
— West eliminated teams: Memphis, New Orleans, Dallas, Utah and Sacramento.
— Hornets 127, Suns 107: Charlotte clinches no worse than a .500 record.
— Pistons 113, Timberwolves 108: Detroit closing in on East No. 1 seed.
— Thunder 139, Lakers 96: Luka Doncic hurt, Lakers tie 7th-biggest loss in team history.
— Cavaliers 118, Warriors 111: Cleveland on brink of clinching top-4 seed.
— Trail Blazers 118, Pelicans 106: Portland made 20 3s, New Orleans made nine.
— Spurs 118, Clippers 99: Victor Wembanyama sits, Spurs win 11th straight anyway.
— Indiana at Charlotte: A winning record this season is going to get Hornets’ coach Charles Lee some award votes.
— Minnesota at Philadelphia: Massive implications seeding-wise for both teams.
— Atlanta at Brooklyn: Hawks closing in on Southeast Division title, possibly No. 5 seed.
— Chicago at New York: Knicks nearing the 50-win mark yet again.
— Utah at Houston: The Rockets know they can’t afford a slipup in this spot.
— Toronto at Memphis: Raptors need a few wins down the stretch to avoid play-in.
— Boston at Milwaukee: Bucks coach Doc Rivers faces his former team, a day before expected Hall of Fame formal announcement.
— Orlando at Dallas: Magic coach Jamahl Mosley enjoyed a lot of nights when he was on the Mavs’ staff. He desperately needs one of those good nights here.
— New Orleans at Sacramento: A pair of teams building for the future.
— Washington at Miami: Bam Adebayo scored 83 against the Wizards last month. The rematch!
— San Antonio at Denver: Wembanyama vs. Nikola Jokic in potential West playoff pairing.
— Detroit at Philadelphia: Sorry, Detroit. Michigan-Arizona Final Four game tips off during this one.
Friday on NBA TV: Chicago-New York.
Saturday on Prime: San Antonio-Denver.
Saturday on NBA TV: Detroit-Philadelphia.
Oklahoma City (+135) is favored to win the NBA title, according to BetMGM Sportsbook, followed by Boston (+550), San Antonio (+550), Denver (+1100), Cleveland (+1200) and New York (+1600). Detroit, on its way to the No. 1 seed in the East, is +2500.
— April 10: All 30 teams play their 81st games of the season.
— April 12: All 30 teams play their regular season finales.
— April 14, 15 and 17: NBA play-in tournament dates.
— April 18 and 19: NBA playoff series openers.
— May 2, 3 or 4: Conference semifinals begin.
— May 10: NBA draft lottery.
— May 10-17: NBA draft combine.
— May 17 or 19: Eastern Conference finals begin on ESPN and ABC.
— May 18 or 20: Western Conference finals begin on NBC and Peacock.
— June 3: Game 1, NBA Finals on ABC. (Other finals dates: June 5, June 8, June 10, June 13, June 16 and June 19).
The Thunder had 14 different players score in their win over the Lakers on Thursday night. There have been only seven games in NBA history, including playoffs, where a team saw more players score at least one point in the same game.
The Spurs are 27-2 since Feb. 1 — and have picked up only 3 1/2 games on Oklahoma City (23-5) in that span. (By the way, the best record in the East since that date belongs to Atlanta at 20-6.)
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/nba
Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokić, left, struggles to field a pass as Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green defends in the second half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, March 29, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic warms up before an NBA basketball game against the Utah Jazz, Wednesday, April 1, 2026, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rob Gray)
Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) looks for a play against Utah Jazz guard John Konchar (55) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, April 1, 2026, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rob Gray)
Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) holds the ball away from Utah Jazz guard John Konchar during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, April 1, 2026, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rob Gray)
Miami Heat guard Pelle Larsson, left, is fouled by Philadelphia 76ers center Adem Bona, right, during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, March 30, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) dunks against the Atlanta Hawks in the second half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, March 30, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
Toronto Raptors centre Jakob Poeltl (front) is fouled by Orlando Magic centre Goga Bitadze (back left) as Magic forward Paolo Banchero (right) looks on during first half NBA action in Toronto on Sunday, March 29, 2026. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)
Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum, right, drives against Charlotte Hornets guard Kon Knueppel during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Charlotte, N.C., Sunday, March 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)
