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Arab World

Israel Hands over Bodies of 45 Palestinians After Hamas Returned the Remains of 3 Soldiers 

Red Cross vehicles carrying the bodies of three people believed to be deceased hostages handed over by Hamas make their way toward the border crossing with Israel, to be transferred to Israeli authorities, in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025. (AP)
Red Cross vehicles carrying the bodies of three people believed to be deceased hostages handed over by Hamas make their way toward the border crossing with Israel, to be transferred to Israeli authorities, in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025. (AP)
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Israel Hands over Bodies of 45 Palestinians After Hamas Returned the Remains of 3 Soldiers 

Red Cross vehicles carrying the bodies of three people believed to be deceased hostages handed over by Hamas make their way toward the border crossing with Israel, to be transferred to Israeli authorities, in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025. (AP)
Red Cross vehicles carrying the bodies of three people believed to be deceased hostages handed over by Hamas make their way toward the border crossing with Israel, to be transferred to Israeli authorities, in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025. (AP)

Israel on Monday handed over the bodies of 45 Palestinians, health officials in Gaza said, a day after Hamas returned the remains of three hostages. Israeli officials identified the three as soldiers who were killed in the Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7, 2023 that triggered the war. 

The exchange marked another step forward for the tenuous, US-brokered ceasefire in the two-year war — the deadliest and most destructive war ever fought between Israel and Hamas group. 

Since the truce took effect on Oct. 10, Palestinian fighters have released the remains of 20 hostages, with eight now still remaining in Gaza. 

For each hostage returned, Israel has been releasing the remains of 15 Palestinians. Monday's return brought the number of Palestinian bodies handed back since the ceasefire began to 270. 

Slow identification process in Gaza 

Zaher al-Wahidi, a spokesperson at the Gaza Health Ministry, told The Associated Press that the 45 released bodies of Palestinians were received at the Nasser Hospital in Gaza around noon. 

Only about 75 of all the returned bodies have so far been identified, the ministry said. Forensic work is complicated by a lack of DNA testing kits in Gaza, it added. The ministry posts photos of the remains online, in the hope that families will recognize them. 

Meanwhile, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu identified the three hostages returned to Israel on Sunday night as Capt. Omer Neutra, an American-Israeli, Staff Sgt. Oz Daniel and Col. Assaf Hamami. A Hamas statement earlier said their remains were found on Sunday in a tunnel in southern Gaza. 

Neutra, an American-Israeli, was 21 when Hamas fighters abducted him and the rest of his tank crew on Oct. 7, 2023. In December 2024, the military announced Neutra had been killed in the attack that started the war. 

US President Donald Trump said Sunday he had spoken with Neutra's family, describing their relief and heartbreak. “They were thrilled, in one sense, but in another sense, obviously, it’s not too great,” Trump said. 

Daniel, a 19-year-old staff sergeant, was pulled by gunmen from his tank and taken into Gaza, along with three others of his crew. He is survived by his parents and twin sister. The remains of the others were returned earlier. 

Hamami, commander of Israel’s southern brigade in the Gaza division, died early on Oct. 7, 2023, in fighting to defend Kibbutz Nirim. Hamami and two of his soldiers were killed and their bodies were taken to Gaza. Hamami is survived by his wife and three children. 

Militants have released one or two bodies every few days. Israel has urged for faster progress, and in certain cases it has said the remains were not those of any hostage. Hamas has said the work is complicated by widespread devastation. 

Arrests of 2 ex-military figures rocks Israel 

Since Sunday, a political scandal has rocked Israel involving the military's former legal chief, Maj. Gen. Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi. A military official said she was arrested overnight after she has admitted to leaking a video of Israeli soldiers sexually assaulting a Palestinian detainee and resigned from office. 

The arrests were widely reported in Israeli media. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of not being authorized to speak with the media. 

A frantic search was underway Sunday along the Tel Aviv beach for Tomer-Yerushalmi, after her family raised concerns for her safety and police found her abandoned car along the coastline, reported Israel’s Channel 12. Police said she was found soon after the search began. 

Former chief military prosecutor Col. Matan Solomesh was also arrested overnight and was appearing in court Monday, reported Israel’s Army Radio. 

Efforts to ramp up Gaza aid and a vaccination campaign  

The exchange of hostage remains for Palestinian bodies has been the central part of the initial phase of the US-brokered ceasefire. The 20-point plan includes the formation of an international stabilization force of Arab and other partners that would work with Egypt and Jordan on securing Gaza’s borders and ensure the ceasefire is respected. 

Multiple nations have shown interest in taking part in a peacekeeping force, but have called for a clear UN Security Council mandate before committing troops. 

Other difficult questions include Hamas’ disarmament and the governance of a postwar Gaza, as well as when and how humanitarian aid will be increased. 

UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper will visit Jordan on Monday and call on Israel to allow more aid into Gaza. She is expected to visit a warehouse where British aid remains stuck waiting to enter Gaza. 

Ahead of the visit, Cooper said that “humanitarian support is desperately needed and the people of Gaza cannot afford to wait.” 

“Following the US-led peace process and the plans for a substantial increase in aid for Gaza, we need an increase in crossings, an acceleration in lifting of restrictions and more agencies able to go in with aid,” Cooper said. 

Cooper also announced that Britain will provide an extra 6 million pounds ($7.9 million) of humanitarian support for Gaza, provided by the UN Population Fund. 

Also Monday, Gaza’s health ministry announced that a campaign to vaccinate some 40,000 Palestinian children under three years old against preventable diseases like measles, polio and meningitis will kick off next week. 

It will focus on children who missed routine vaccinations or received only partial doses due to the war, Dr. Nedal Ghoneim, the Health Ministry’s public health manager, told the AP. The exact number of children in need of routine vaccinations is unknown due to challenges record-keeping during the war, said Ghoneim. 

The Hamas-led attack on southern Israel two years ago killed about 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage. Israel’s military offensive has killed more than 68,800 Palestinians in Gaza, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which doesn’t distinguish between civilians and combatants. The ministry, part of the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals, maintains detailed records viewed as generally reliable by independent experts. 

Israel, which has denied accusations by a UN commission of inquiry and others of committing genocide in Gaza, has disputed the ministry’s figures without providing a contradicting toll. 

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Arab World

Lebanon Maintains Exclusive Negotiations and State Control of Weapons

President Joseph Aoun chairs a cabinet session held on Thursday at the presidential palace (Presidency)
President Joseph Aoun chairs a cabinet session held on Thursday at the presidential palace (Presidency)
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Lebanon Maintains Exclusive Negotiations and State Control of Weapons

President Joseph Aoun chairs a cabinet session held on Thursday at the presidential palace (Presidency)
President Joseph Aoun chairs a cabinet session held on Thursday at the presidential palace (Presidency)

In Beirut, Lebanon’s leadership signaled it is moving forward with its decision to keep negotiations in official hands, alongside efforts to place all weapons under state control.

The government took a further step by ordering the army and security forces to immediately reinforce full state authority over Beirut province and limit weapons there to legitimate state forces only.

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam is set to begin a foreign tour starting in the US, where he will meet US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. He will also visit the United Nations for talks with Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

Contacts with Washington remain limited, conducted through US Ambassador Michel Issa. Lebanese authorities are seeking to separate the domestic handling of the crisis from US-Iran negotiations.

Officials have expressed frustration at attempts by Iranian counterparts to link Lebanon to what they call the “axis of resistance.”

President Joseph Aoun underscored that position, saying, “We do not accept that anyone negotiate on our behalf,” echoing Salam.

Salam told Asharq Al-Awsat that his tour aims to strengthen Lebanon’s position, rally support to stop the war, and restore state authority over its territory and decisions of war and peace.

He said the path forward is clear: a ceasefire, Israeli withdrawal, followed by direct negotiations, alongside continued efforts to place weapons under state control. The government has taken an additional step toward that goal in Beirut, he added, stressing the need to strengthen security for residents and displaced people.

Salam said his call with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was positive. “The only way to stop the Israeli attacks begins with a ceasefire,” he said, stressing it “must include Lebanon.”

Sharif reaffirmed his country’s support for stability and condemned the attacks.

Aoun says there is international support for negotiations

Aoun said “the only solution” to the current situation is a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, followed by direct negotiations.

His office said he is conducting intensive international contacts, adding that the proposal has gained broad international support and is beginning to gain traction in diplomatic circles.

Aoun received calls from Jordan’s King Abdullah II and Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, both of whom offered condolences for the victims of ongoing Israeli attacks and expressed solidarity with Lebanon.

Both leaders said their countries are ready to help end the escalation and support Lebanon’s position, particularly in ensuring it is included in any ceasefire agreement between the United States and Iran.

Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides also condemned the continuing Israeli attacks, which he said have struck areas across the capital, its suburbs, the mountains, the Bekaa Valley, and the south.

Cabinet discusses weapons, international complaint

The cabinet, meeting under Aoun, stressed the urgency of including Lebanon in any ceasefire.

“We are tired of statements of condemnation,” Aoun said. “We had hoped Lebanon would be included in the ceasefire.”

He said Lebanon is pressing international partners to secure a ceasefire and ensure it is included in any agreement so negotiations can begin.

“The state is the one that negotiates,” he added. “We do not accept that anyone negotiate on our behalf.”

After the session, Salam said Lebanon would file an urgent complaint to the UN Security Council over escalating Israeli attacks, particularly in Beirut, which have caused a high number of civilian casualties.

He said the escalation defies international and regional efforts to stop the war and violates international law and international humanitarian law.

Salam also announced measures to enforce state control over weapons in Beirut, citing the Taif Agreement and cabinet decisions. The army and security forces were instructed to immediately strengthen state authority, strictly enforce the law, and take action against violators.

Hezbollah ministers object to ‘a demilitarized Beirut’

Information Minister Paul Marcos said Hezbollah ministers Rakan Nasreddine and Mohammad Haidar objected to the proposal of a “demilitarized Beirut.”

Justice Minister Adel Nassar said it is no longer acceptable to turn Lebanon into a military base for defending Iran, adding that he is preparing a legal and political file on the issue and stressing the need to protect Lebanese security.

Haidar said Hezbollah supports maintaining security and the presence of security forces, as well as tighter control over illegal or unlicensed weapons, but rejected language suggesting a fundamentally different security reality in Beirut.

Asked about resigning, he said the ministers would continue their duties and express their political stance within the cabinet.

Masnaa crossing reopens

Before the session, Telecommunications Minister Charles El Hajj said Lebanon had succeeded in preventing Israeli strikes on the Masnaa crossing, calling it a step to build on.

“Lebanon must not be an arena or a bargaining chip,” he said.

The prime minister’s office later announced the reopening of the Masnaa border crossing with Syria after several days of closure due to Israeli threats to target it.

Arab World

Israel-Backed Armed Group Burns Homes in Gaza

Palestinians inspect the damage after a person was hit by an Israeli strike while riding a bicycle, according to medics, in Gaza City, April 6, 2026. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Palestinians inspect the damage after a person was hit by an Israeli strike while riding a bicycle, according to medics, in Gaza City, April 6, 2026. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
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Israel-Backed Armed Group Burns Homes in Gaza

Palestinians inspect the damage after a person was hit by an Israeli strike while riding a bicycle, according to medics, in Gaza City, April 6, 2026. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Palestinians inspect the damage after a person was hit by an Israeli strike while riding a bicycle, according to medics, in Gaza City, April 6, 2026. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas

Residents of Maghazi camp in central Gaza said armed men linked to Israel-backed groups set fire on Thursday to land, homes, and agricultural greenhouses.

Witnesses told Asharq Al-Awsat the fires broke out in Hamas-controlled areas west of an informal “yellow line,” while Israeli forces were stationed to the east.

Several residents accused a group known as the Abu Nasira gang, led by a former security officer, of carrying out the attack.

Such groups have become a growing concern for Hamas and its security arms, as kidnapping and assassination attempts against members of the movement, its armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, and its security forces increase.

Days earlier, east of Maghazi camp, two Qassam members were lured in an attempted abduction that escalated into clashes with Israeli fire, killing 10 Palestinians.

One witness said armed men arrived shortly before noon in several four-wheel-drive vehicles, carrying weapons. They advanced dozens of meters west of the “yellow line,” near the Hosni al-Masdar mosque east of Maghazi camp, as Israeli drones flew overhead. Infantry vehicles later reinforced them amid intermittent gunfire.

The witness, who requested anonymity, said large fires broke out soon after. Residents and field sources confirmed the blazes destroyed farmland, greenhouses, and homes.

A member of a local armed faction said Abu Nasira fighters spread across the area and carried out the arson under Israeli cover, with intensified fire directed at western areas where residents and displaced people are located.

A Hamas source repeated accusations against the group, saying it is trying to assert its presence by escalating operations. The source described it as a “major threat,” carrying out kidnappings, assassinations and direct incursions under Israeli support that provides aerial cover and, at times, ground backing.

The attack coincided with Israeli escalation elsewhere in Gaza, killing a man and a child in separate incidents. An Israeli drone killed Youssef Mansour, 33, who witnesses said was bird hunting in the Mawasi area of Rafah in southern Gaza.

In northern Gaza, tank shells hit Abu Ubaida bin al-Jarrah school in Beit Lahia, killing a young girl, Retaj Rihan. She had been in a classroom tent with dozens of displaced third-grade students. She was taken in critical condition to a clinic in Jabalia al-Balad, where she died.

Gaza’s Ministry of Education condemned the attack, holding Israel responsible and saying hundreds of students have been killed during and after the war due to repeated targeting. It called for urgent international intervention.

Shortly after the school attack, Israeli fire from remotely operated cranes east of Gaza City wounded four Palestinians. The gunfire hit Ibn al-Haytham school on the western edge of Shuja’iyya, sheltering hundreds of displaced people. Others were wounded in similar fire toward Halawa camp in Jabalia al-Balad, with one reported in critical condition.

On Wednesday evening, two Palestinians were killed in separate strikes, including journalist Mohammed Washah, drawing condemnation over the killing of journalists. The strikes have killed 262 journalists since the start of the war.

The number of Palestinians killed since a ceasefire took effect on Oct. 10, 2025 has risen to more than 740, according to available figures.

Arab World

Israel Carries Out Incursions in Syria’s Quneitra as UNDOF Monitors

Israeli soldiers in the buffer zone between Israeli and Syrian forces in the Golan Heights (file photo - AFP)
Israeli soldiers in the buffer zone between Israeli and Syrian forces in the Golan Heights (file photo - AFP)
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Israel Carries Out Incursions in Syria’s Quneitra as UNDOF Monitors

Israeli soldiers in the buffer zone between Israeli and Syrian forces in the Golan Heights (file photo - AFP)
Israeli soldiers in the buffer zone between Israeli and Syrian forces in the Golan Heights (file photo - AFP)

As Israeli forces press deeper into Syrian territory along the ceasefire line in the occupied Golan Heights, a Syrian official source told Asharq Al-Awsat that increased patrols by the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) stem from the 1974 disengagement agreement, not new understandings with Israel.

An Israeli force on Thursday entered the village of Al-Ajraf in northern Quneitra, according to state news agency SANA.

The unit, comprising eight vehicles and more than 30 troops, set up a temporary checkpoint and searched passersby before withdrawing without making any arrests.

The move is part of a pattern of repeated incursions into the UN-monitored buffer zone separating Syrian and Israeli forces under the 1974 agreement. The incursions have continued since the ouster of former president Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.

Israel has since escalated its operations, with near-daily incursions reaching villages and towns beyond the buffer zone, where it has set up nine military bases.

UNDOF has stepped up patrols in Quneitra and Daraa along the ceasefire line, areas frequently entered by Israeli forces. It has also begun meeting residents to document alleged violations.

Quneitra governorate’s media director, Mohammed al-Saeed, said UNDOF’s deployment remains within the framework of the 1974 agreement and does not reflect new arrangements with Israel.

He said the mission monitors the ceasefire and all parties, and is currently documenting Israeli violations against Syrian sovereignty, civilians, and property in areas entered by Israeli forces. The deployment is routine, he added, but has intensified recently.

Al-Saeed said the increased UN presence has not curbed incursions, but offers some reassurance to residents by tracking troop movements and documenting violations.

Israeli forces, he said, carry out house raids, detain civilians, set up checkpoints, search passersby, block roads, disrupt services, and fire weapons to intimidate residents.

He said the actions are aimed at pressuring residents into self-displacement.

Despite this, residents are aware of the tactics and reject leaving, he said, unwilling to repeat the displacement of 1967, when similar practices forced communities from their homes.