Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu says he agreed with US president Donald Trump in their talks last week in Florida that the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt will only be reopened once the remains of the final hostage, police officer Ran Gvili, have been returned to Israel.
This was relayed by Mr Netanyahu to members of the security cabinet after his return from the US.
The reopening of the Rafah crossing was a key element in the Gaza ceasefire agreement signed in October, but Israel since then says it will only agree that the terminal be opened in one direction – to allow Gazans to leave. This is unacceptable to both the Palestinians and Egypt.
Despite the dispute, a Qatari foreign ministry spokesperson said on Tuesday that Doha is engaged with mediators to reopen the crossing.
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“We are working with mediators to ensure we reach the second phase of Gaza ceasefire. We demanded that humanitarian aid is not used as a political blackmail,” he said.
Israel’s public broadcaster Kan reported that Mr Netanyahu also said Israel is determined that Hamas disarm and will present a deadline to the militant group.
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Meanwhile, in another blow to ceasefire efforts, Azerbaijan says it has no intention of sending troops to take part in the International Stabilisation Force that is due to deploy in Gaza.
“No participation in peacekeeping forces is envisaged,” said president Ilham Aliyev. “I am not considering participation in hostilities outside Azerbaijan at all.”
An Azeri government source had said last November that Azerbaijan would only provide troops for such an operation if there was a complete halt to fighting between Israel and Hamas.
Clashes in Gaza continue on an almost daily basis and more than 400 people have been killed since the ceasefire began, according to the Gaza health ministry.
With Hamas refusing to disarm, the US is finding it difficult to recruit countries willing to send peacekeeping troops.
Turkey is reportedly willing to send up to 2,000 soldiers but Israel is blocking participation from Ankara, citing what it claims is president Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s hostility to Israel and its support for Hamas.
Mr Erdogan told Bloomberg in an interview that “it would be difficult for a mechanism without Turkey to gain the trust of the Palestinian people”.
Separately, the Foreign Press Association, which represents the foreign media in Israel, have expressed “profound disappointment” with the Israeli government’s submission to the supreme court arguing in favour of continuing the ban on foreign journalists entering Gaza, despite the ceasefire.
The organisation described the Israeli government policy as “a continuous infringement of the fundamental principles of freedom of speech, the public’s right to know and free press.”
