Aid trucks rolled into Gaza on Wednesday and Israel resumed preparations to open the main Rafah crossing after a dispute over the return of the bodies of dead hostages that had threatened to derail the fragile ceasefire deal with Hamas.
Despite the declaration by US president Donald Trump that the Gaza war is over, events on the ground are raising serious doubts over prospects for moving ahead.
Hamas returned all the 20 living hostages on Monday but by Wednesday had only returned seven bodies of the 28 deceased captives, with a promise of two more on Wednesday night.
The ceasefire plan, which both Israel and Hamas accepted, stipulated the handover of all 48 hostages would be completed on Monday.
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Hamas says it will take time to return the bodies as some are buried under the rubble and it made it clear it won’t be able to locate all 28.
Israel determined, based on forensic tests, that one of the four bodies returned by Hamas on Tuesday was not that of a hostage.
Israel believes Hamas is aware of the location of most of the bodies and is reportedly considering the option of holding up the entry of humanitarian assistance if Hamas does not return the bodies, accusing the group of violating the ceasefire agreement. Turkey is sending an 80-strong team to Gaza to help recover the hostage bodies.
Hamas gunmen have returned to the streets in the 47 per cent of the enclave not under Israel Defence Forces (IDF) control, executing opponents and clashing with family clans who oppose their rule.
Hamas maintains its fighters are working to “restore security” and “eliminate lawlessness.”
The militant group has made it clear that it will not disarm. Mr Trump, in comments on Tuesday night, was adamant that this will happen. “They’re going to disarm, because they said they would disarm. And if they don’t disarm, we will disarm them,” he told reporters at the White House, without explaining how this will happen.
Israeli prime minster Binyamin Netanyahu also insisted that Gaza must be demilitarised, according to the agreement. “First, Hamas has to give up its arms,” he said. “And second, you want to make sure that there are no weapons factories and no smuggling of weapons into Gaza. That’s demilitarisation.”
Despite the ceasefire, the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry said on Wednesday that nine people were killed over the past day in IDF operations in Gaza. The Israeli military said troops opened fire on people who entered the area under IDF control.
More aid is now entering Gaza but Tom Fletcher, the United Nations top emergency relief coordinator, says that thousands of humanitarian vehicles must enter weekly to avert further catastrophe.
“We have 190,000 metric tons of provisions on the borders waiting to go in and we’re determined to deliver. That’s essential life-saving food and nutrition.”
Despite the ceasefire difficulties, Israel has agreed that the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip will reopen to allow people to cross on Thursday, with an EU mission set to deploy there.
Meanwhile, details are emerging on the condition of the living hostages who returned this week and the conditions they endured in captivity.
Yaron Or said his son Avinatan Or was handcuffed to a cage for a year after he tried to flee from his captors in Gaza. He sid his son was kept alone in a tunnel for the entire two years he was in captivity.
Doctors reported “severe but treatable nutrition problems.” Professor Hagai Levine, head of the health team at the Hostages and Missing Families forum, said doctors were particularly concerned about the long-term effects of severe nutritional deprivation.
There were also cases where hostages were fed before their release to make them appear healthier, which can be very dangerous following a prolonged period of reduced calorie intake.
