The Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt will reopen Monday for people returning to Gaza, the Palestinian embassy in Egypt said Saturday, but the territory's sole gateway to the outside world will remain closed to people trying to leave.

They were freed in exchange for Israeli hostages held in Gaza, but instead of going home, 154 Palestinian ex-prisoners were exiled to Egypt, where they are confined to a hotel and kept under tight surveillance.

As Israel and Hamas implement the first phase of a Gaza peace plan, questions remain unanswered over what comes next.

Egypt's foreign minister said on Friday that resolving the Palestinian question was key to making progress in a U.S.-backed transport project to connect India to Europe via the Middle East by sea and rail.

Egypt proposed an initial deployment of 1,000 security personnel trained in Jordan or Egypt, aiming to gradually expand the effort to enforce post-ceasefire security. Negotiations between Israel and Hamas have entered a new stage,

But there are plenty of potential obstacles to sealing a deal, and Israel has continued to kill Palestinians in Gaza, with 10 reported killed on Monday, including three people who were seeking humanitarian aid, according to Al Jazeera sources.

World leaders from more than 20 nations gathered in Egypt to formally sign the agreement, which Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi called "the birth of a glimmer of hope" for the region.

Israeli authorities have deported 154 Palestinian prisoners to Egypt in a highly controversial move that has sparked anger and threats of retaliation from Hamas’ military wing, the Al‑Qassam Brigades.

SHARM EL SHEIKH, Egypt(AP) — Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas arrives in Egypt's Sharm el-Sheikh to attend key summit co-chaired by the US and Egypt (CORRECTS: A previous APNewsAlert had a typo in the word key).

The project known as the India-Middle East Economic Corridor (IMEC) was announced on the sidelines of a summit of the leaders of the Group of 20 major economies in September 2023 and was seen as a US alternative to China’s Belt and Road push on global infrastructure.