Palestinian and relief sources denied that they had been informed by the Egyptian authorities of the decision to operate the Rafah border crossing with the Gaza Strip, or to start a truce with the Israeli side in the south of the Strip.

Salama Maarouf, head of the government media office in Gaza, said in a statement: “We have not received, until this moment, any communications or confirmations from the relevant authorities on the Egyptian side about the intention to open the Rafah crossing today, and everything that is being circulated in particular is attributed to (Israeli) media.”

Two sources, one a high-ranking Palestinian and the other a relief source, reported that they had not yet been informed of the decision to operate the Rafah crossing or start a truce, calling for waiting until an official position arrived from the Egyptian side.

The private Egyptian news channel Cairo, which is close to the authorities, had previously reported from "Israeli media" that there was a ceasefire in southern Gaza as of 9 am today (local time), while Arab press reports reported news of the start of a truce and the start of operation of the crossing.

Neither the Egyptian nor the Palestinian side issued any official positions regarding the news being circulated about the opening of the crossing.

Source: Anadolu Agency