2 weeks ago
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned connected Saturday that the warfare successful Gaza would not beryllium implicit until Hamas was disarmed and the Palestinian territory demilitarised.
His declaration came arsenic Hamas’s equipped wing, the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, handed implicit the remains of 2 further hostages connected Saturday nighttime nether a US-brokered ceasefire agreement.
Netanyahu’s bureau said precocious Saturday that a Red Cross squad had received the remains of 2 hostages from Hamas and handed them to Israeli forces successful Gaza, from wherever they would beryllium taken to Israel to beryllium identified.
The contented of the dormant hostages inactive successful Gaza has go a sticking constituent successful the implementation of the archetypal signifier of the ceasefire. Israel has linked the reopening of the cardinal Rafah crossing to the territory to the betterment of the hostages’ remains.
Netanyahu cautioned that completing the ceasefire’s 2nd signifier was indispensable to ending the war.
He said precocious Saturday that “Phase B besides involves the disarming of Hamas and the demilitarisation of the Gaza Strip.
“When that is successfully completed — hopefully successful an casual way, but if not, successful a hard mode — past the warfare volition end,” helium added successful an quality connected right-wing Israeli Channel 14.
Hamas has truthful acold resisted the thought and since the intermission successful warring has moved to reassert its power implicit the Gaza Strip.
– Rafah crossing closed –
Under the ceasefire woody brokered by US President Donald Trump, Hamas has truthful acold released each 20 surviving hostages, on with the remains of 9 Israelis and 1 Nepalese.
The astir caller handover was connected Friday nighttime — the assemblage was identified by Israel arsenic Eliyahu Margalit, who died aged 75 successful Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack.
In exchange, Israel has released astir 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and 135 different bodies of Palestinians since the truce came into effect connected October 10.
Hamas has said it needs clip and method assistance to retrieve the remaining bodies, which it says are buried nether Gaza’s rubble.
The 2 bodies to beryllium returned connected Saturday “were recovered earlier today”, the al-Qassam Brigades said connected Telegram.
Netanyahu connected Saturday hinted that the reopening of the captious Rafah crossing to Egypt could beryllium connected Hamas returning each the bodies of hostages inactive successful Gaza.
The Palestinian ngo successful Cairo announced that the crossing could unfastened arsenic aboriginal arsenic Monday, though lone for Gazans surviving successful Egypt who wished to instrumentality to the territory.
Shortly after, however, Netanyahu’s bureau said helium had “directed that the Rafah crossing stay closed until further notice”.
“Its reopening volition beryllium considered based connected however Hamas fulfils its portion successful returning the hostages and the bodies of the deceased, and successful implementing the agreed-upon framework,” it said, referring to the week-old ceasefire deal.
Hamas warned precocious Saturday that the closure of the Rafah crossing would origin “significant delays successful the retrieval and transportation of remains”.
– Digging latrines –
Further delays to the reopening could besides complicate the task facing Tom Fletcher, the UN caput of humanitarian relief, who was successful bluish Gaza connected Saturday.
“I drove done present 7 to 8 months agone erstwhile astir of these buildings were inactive lasting and, to spot the devastation — this is simply a immense portion of the city, conscionable a wasteland — and it’s perfectly devastating to see,” helium told AFP.
Fletcher said the task up for the UN and assistance agencies was a “massive, monolithic job”.
He said helium had met residents returning to destroyed homes who were trying to excavation latrines successful the ruins.
“They’re telling maine astir of each they privation dignity,” helium said.
“We person a monolithic 60-day program present to surge successful food, get a cardinal meals retired determination a day, commencement to rebuild the wellness sector, bring successful tents for the winter, get hundreds of thousands of kids backmost into school.”
While the Rafah crossing has yet to reopen conscionable implicit a week since the brokering of the truce, hundreds of trucks are rolling successful each time via Israeli checkpoints...
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