CAIRO/JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel said on Thursday it was preparing to reopen the Rafah crossing in Gaza with Egypt to allow Palestinians in and out, but did not set any date, while exchanging accusations with Hamas over violations of the US-brokered ceasefire.
A dispute over the return of the bodies of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza has the potential to upend the truce, along with other key points of the plan that have yet to be resolved, including the disarmament of the militants and the future government of Gaza.
Israel demanded that Hamas fulfill its obligations by handing over the unrecovered bodies of all 28 hostages who died during the war. The Islamic faction said it had handed over 10 bodies, but Israel said one of them was not a hostage.
FREE LIST
10 small caps to invest in
The list of stocks from promising sectors on the Stock Exchange
“We will make no concessions on this and we will spare no effort until our dead hostages return, every last one of them,” an Israeli government spokesman said on Wednesday.
Hamas’ armed wing said delivering more bodies to Gaza, which has been reduced to vast expanses of rubble by the war, would require the entry of heavy machinery and excavation equipment into the Israeli-blockaded Palestinian enclave.
On Thursday, a senior Hamas official accused Israel of violating the ceasefire by killing at least 24 people in gun battles since Friday, and said a list of these violations had been given to mediators.
Continues after advertising
“The occupying state is working day and night to undermine the agreement through its violations on the ground,” he declared.
The Israeli military did not immediately respond to Hamas’ accusations. They previously said some Palestinians ignored warnings not to approach Israeli ceasefire positions and that troops “opened fire to remove the threat.”
Israel says the next phase of the 20-point plan to end the war drawn up by US President Donald Trump’s administration requires Hamas to give up its weapons and cede power, which it has so far refused to do.
Instead, Hamas launched a security crackdown in urban areas vacated by Israeli forces, displaying its power through public executions and clashes with local armed clans.
Twenty remaining live hostages were released on Monday in exchange for thousands of Palestinians imprisoned in Israel.
The long-term elements of Trump’s plan, including the composition of an international “stabilization force” for the small, densely populated territory and moves toward creating a Palestinian state — rejected by Israel — have not yet been defined.
