Efforts to move into the second phase of US President Donald Trump’s ceasefire plan for the Gaza Strip remain stalled, heightening fears of renewed fighting.
Israel is insisting that Hamas hand over the remaining bodies of four Israeli hostages, take clear steps on governing the enclave, disarm Palestinian factions, and start reconstruction only in areas under Israeli control. These demands are closely tied to Israel’s full withdrawal behind what it calls the “yellow line.”
In response, sources from Hamas and the Islamic Jihad said the impasse was pushing events toward what Israel wants, a resumption of war, particularly as Israeli forces still control more than 53 % of Gaza’s territory, the area lying behind the yellow line seen as an initial withdrawal boundary.
Israel also continues to keep the Rafah crossing closed and strictly limits the entry of humanitarian aid.
Body recovery dispute
Field sources from Palestinian factions told Asharq Al-Awsat that major difficulties have hampered the search for the remaining bodies, a process that could take considerable time.
One source said that at least one body was in the custody of the Islamic Jihad, while another was believed to be held by Hamas’s military wing, al-Qassam Brigades.
The sources said the two remaining bodies “could be found if search operations were intensified without Israeli restrictions, especially since they are believed to be in areas east of the yellow line.”
During the ceasefire negotiations, Hamas had already warned that returning the bodies would be a complicated process requiring time, a position that several sources said mediators understood.
On Wednesday, Israel allowed a joint team from Hamas and the International Committee of the Red Cross to enter the center of the Shujaiya neighborhood in eastern Gaza to search for the bodies of Israeli hostages.
Two bodies had been recovered in recent days during separate operations in the same residential block where Israel had previously assassinated senior commanders of the Shujaiya Battalion during the war.
‘Target bank’
Hamas sources believe Israel is deliberately obstructing the implementation of the remaining clauses of the truce agreement, despite Trump’s public and private assurances through mediators that progress need not be strictly sequential and that certain steps could be completed while others were delayed.
According to Hamas and other Palestinian faction sources, Israel has intensified its intelligence surveillance, using drones to track leaders and activists in the resistance, compiling a “target bank” in preparation for potential violations of the ceasefire, as it did twice within two weeks of the truce taking effect.
“These operations aim primarily to disrupt the agreement and block the transition to the second phase,” one source said. “Israel’s focus is to resume the war, whether by the same methods or through new ones.”
‘Israel won’t operate freely’
A Hamas political source said any response to Israel’s refusal to implement the truce would be made “by consensus through a unified Palestinian position,” adding that “we will not allow Israel to remain inside the Gaza Strip and act with unchecked security freedom.”
The source said Israel has yet to honor all provisions of the first phase of the deal, continuing to restrict the entry of basic goods, heavy engineering equipment for clearing rubble, and construction materials needed to repair hospitals, schools, and key infrastructure.
It has also blocked fuel shipments for Gaza’s only power plant and for municipalities to provide essential services.
Hamas, the source added, is monitoring these developments with mediators, “but Israel sees itself above everyone and acts accordingly,” while Palestinian factions remain committed to fulfilling their side of the agreement “to deny Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu any pretext to restart the war.”
Pressure on civilians
Mustafa Ibrahim, a political analyst and writer, said Israel’s policy of restricting food and fuel supplies was aimed at reminding civilians that “the war has not truly ended and will not stop unless Hamas leaves Gaza.”
He told Asharq Al-Awsat that Israel was complicating the situation by rejecting several options proposed by mediators.
Ibrahim said Netanyahu and some of his ministers were trying to evade the ceasefire’s political implications for domestic reasons by reigniting tensions in Gaza.
“They are doing this through daily killings of Palestinians under weak pretexts, as well as the two major bombardments that hit various parts of the Strip since the truce took effect, and by escalating on the Lebanese front,” he said.
“These are clear indicators of Israel’s intentions.”
He predicted that the situation in Gaza would likely remain unchanged as Israel continues using these pretexts to stall progress on the second phase of Trump’s plan.
“Mediators now face a major test to prove they can compel Netanyahu’s government to comply,” he said. “Only the US administration has the power to make that happen.”
