Italy says monitoring mission, which was halted when Hamas seized control of Strip in 2007, 'was launched at the request of Israel and the PA'

The European Union is ready to redeploy its border assistance mission at the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt, Kaja Kallas, the European Union's foreign affairs chief, said on Monday. The civilian mission was launched in 2005 to assist with trade facilitation and the processing of biometric passports but was suspended in 2007 when Hamas took