Grim body swaps take place between Israel and Hamas and the stricken region is on a nervous knife-edge as the next stage of the ceasefiere process approaches war-battered Gaza
Palestinian hospital officials have confirmed Israel handed over 15 more Palestinian bodies, completing the latest corpse-swap of the ceasefire. It means the first phase of the shaky agreement is almost over as just two bodies of hostages taken at the beginning of the war remain in Gaza.
The handover came a day after Palestinian militants returned the remains of Israeli hostage Dror Or, who was killed by the militants in their Oct. 7, 2023 attack. With the latest swap, Israel has sent back to Gaza a total of 345 Palestinian bodies since the exchanges started last month, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
Two hostages – one Israeli and one Thai national – remain in Gaza. Hamas said on Wednesday it was determined to uphold its side of the agreement and return them both.
Turkish, Qatari and Egyptian officials met Wednesday in Cairo to discuss the second phase of the ceasefire, which began in October and has held despite accusations by both sides of violations. The next phases of the agreement include deploying an international stabilization force and developing an international body to govern Gaza and oversee reconstruction.
An armed international stabilisation force will be tasked with keeping security and ensuring the disarmament of Hamas, a key demand of Israel. Indonesian officials have said they plan to deploy 20,000 peacekeepers to the force. Major questions hang over nearly every part of the plan and the time frame for implementation.
In the meantime, nearly all Palestinians remain displaced and dependent on humanitarian aid. Hamas retains significant control over nearly half of Gaza and the rebuilding of the territory has barely begun.
Gaza’s Health Ministry said only 99 bodies out of the 345 Israel has returned have been identified. They say identifying the remains is complicated by a lack of DNA testing kits in Gaza.
Meanwhile, Israel mourned the latest hostage to be returned by the Palestinian militants, Dror Or. Israel’s military said Or and his wife, Yonat Or, were killed by militants who overran their community of Kibbutz Be’eri on Oct. 7, 2023.
Before they were killed by the militants, the couple evacuated two of their children from their burning house through the window, said the Hostages Families Forum. The decision ultimately saved the children’s lives – Alma and Noam were abducted by the militants and released in a hostage deal in November 2023.
The Forum remembered Or as a devoted father and talented cheesemaker who spent years working at the Be’eri dairy. In total, Palestinian militants killed some 1,200 people across southern Israel and abducted 251 to Gaza in their Oct. 7, 2023 attack that kick-started the war in Gaza.
With the return of Or’s remains, almost all of the hostages or their remains are out of Gaza. Hazem Qassem, the spokesperson for Hamas, said Wednesday that the militant group was committed to handing over the remaining two hostages and wrapping up the exchange.
Writing on his Telegram channel, he called for mediators to pressure Israel to stop its “violations” of the ceasefire. A Palestinian man was killed when Israeli troops opened fire Wednesday on a group of people in central Gaza, a hospital said.
At least two others were wounded in the attack that took place east of the Maghazi refugee camp. They were the latest casualties among Palestinians since a ceasefire deal brought the war to a halt in Gaza last month.
And the Israeli military said its troops struck a group of six militants in the southern city of Rafah, killing one. The military statement said that the militants had “most likely emerged from the underground terror infrastructure in the area.” Since the ceasefire took effect on Oct. 11, the Gaza Health Ministry said, 345 Palestinians were killed and 889 were wounded in the strip as of Tuesday. It is thought 70,000 have been killed in Israel’s offensive in Gaza.
