Egypt pledged to reopen the Rafah crossing border in both directions, Hamas leader Ismail Ridwan said on Sunday.

In a televised interview broadcast by al-Aqsa TV channel, Ridwan added that the Palestinian Authority’s move to withdraw its staff from the Rafah crossing came to pile pressure on the Palestinian people in Gaza and serve partisan interests. 

Ridwan noted that Egypt reiterated its ‘determination to open a commercial crossing with Gaza’ and its willingness to consider importing goods banned entry via Israeli crossings to the besieged enclave.

The Hamas leader hailed Egypt’s efforts to promote reconciliation and called for supporting such endeavours and pressing the PA President Mahmoud Abbas to hammer out a unity deal.  

Regarding the latest Israeli aggression on Gaza, Ridwan stressed that the Palestinian resistance would not backtrack on its duty to retaliate against any Israeli attack on its civilians

Ridwan added that the Israeli crimes against the Palestinian civilians would not go unpunished and held the Israeli Occupation responsible for the repercussions of its aggression on the Palestinian people.