The Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza was expected to reopen Monday to allow Palestinians stranded abroad to return home, according to a statement from the Palestinian embassy in Cairo.

“The number of people registering to return to Gaza is very big,” Naji al-Naji, the embassy’s cultural counselor, told The Associated Press on Saturday. He did not provide an exact figure.

Later on Saturday, Israel said it will stay closed "until further notice."

Reopening the crossing would mar the first movement through the Rafah crossing since May 2024, which was when Israel seized control of the Gaza side during its military campaign against Hamas.

Rafah has long served as Gaza’s primary passage to the outside world.

Recovery efforts continue in Gaza, where search teams are still uncovering bodies from the devastation of months of war. 

More than a week into the ceasefire, local authorities revealed that the death toll has surpassed 68,000.

Israel confirmed Saturday that it has identified the remains of Eliyahu Margalit, the tenth hostage whose body was returned by Hamas a day earlier.