Following Israel’s announcement that it will cut the number of humanitarian supply trucks permitted into Gaza in half as retaliation for what it claimed was Hamas’ breach of its obligation to transport remains under the ceasefire agreement signed last week, the bodies were returned. In the meantime, resurgent Hamas militants showed they were taking back control of Gaza by putting hundreds of security forces onto the streets and putting to death a number of individuals they said were working with Israel. Trump’s warning of military strikes against Hamas unless the group disarmed significantly soured the prospects for his peace offer.
“We will disarm them if they don’t. One day after addressing the Knesset in Jerusalem, Trump declared at the White House that “it will happen quickly and possibly violently.” The fighters have rejected Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s insistence that the battle must stop unless Hamas gives up its weapons and gives up control of Gaza. As Israel and Hamas were trading the final 20 Israeli captives still alive in Gaza for around 2,000 Palestinian inmates and detainees, Trump declared to Israel’s parliament Monday the “historic dawn of a new Middle East.”
However, one of the last issues to be resolved in the agreement to put an end to the more than two years of fighting that started with Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023, is the repatriation of the 28 dead captives. At least 19 hostages are thought to be killed and one is still missing in the Gaza Strip after Hamas turned over eight coffins of dead prisoners. At a gathering place in the northern Gaza Strip on Tuesday, the Israeli military reported receiving four coffins from the Red Cross. According to the Israeli military, those coffins were being carried for forensic identification after crossing the border into Israel under the supervision of Israeli forces just before midnight (2100 GMT). The transfer was verified to be underway by Hamas as well.
Hazem Qassem, the Gaza-based spokesperson for Hamas, wrote on Facebook, “At this time, the men are still supervising the execution of what was agreed upon regarding the handover of bodies as part of the agreement to end the war in Gaza.” It wasn’t immediately apparent if Israel would be able to resume a full complement of relief delivery with the bodies being turned over. Israeli officials claimed that because Hamas had broken the ceasefire agreement by refusing to give over hostage remains, they had chosen to limit aid, allowing just half of the authorized number of supply trucks into Gaza starting Wednesday, and to postpone preparations to open the southern border crossing to Egypt.
An estimated 600 relief trucks must enter Gaza every day during the ceasefire since Israel’s two-year attack has left most of the territory in ruins and more than half a million Palestinians are suffering from starvation in Gaza City and the surrounding areas. Plans to open the crossing to Egypt so that some Gazans can leave, initially to transport the injured for medical care, have not yet been carried out.
