Israel handed over the bodies of 15 Palestinians on Wednesday, a day after Hamas returned the remains of an Israeli hostage. This is the latest exchange as part of a US-brokered ceasefire reached last month, whose first phase is winding down even as violence continues in Palestinian territories.
The remains of two hostages, one Israeli and a Thai national who were abducted in the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel that ignited the war, are still to be returned.
Hamas said it's committed to handing them over even though the recovery is made difficult by widespread destruction in Gaza, while Israel has accused the militants of stalling after the last living hostages were released on Oct. 13 during the most urgent phase of the ceasefire, The AP news reported.
Turkish, Qatari and Egyptian mediators met in Cairo earlier this week to discuss the second phase of the ceasefire.
That is expected to include deploying an armed International Stabilization Force, tasked with ensuring the disarmament of Hamas, a key demand of Israel, and developing an international body to govern Gaza and oversee reconstruction.
But major questions hang over nearly every part of the plan and the time frame for implementation of the fragile ceasefire that has held despite accusations of violations by both sides.
Palestinian bodies returned and hostage remains identified
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 fighters, Dror Or. Israel's military said Or and his wife, Yonat Or, were killed by gunmen who overran their community of Kibbutz Beeri on Oct. 7, 2023.
Before they were killed by the fighters, 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 gunmen and released in a hostage deal in November 2023.
In total, Palestinian fighters killed some 1,200 people across southern Israel and abducted 251 to Gaza in their Oct. 7, 2023 attack that kickstarted 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 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.
Israeli troops shoot Palestinian man in Gaza
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, according to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital which received the casualties.
They were the latest casualties among Palestinians since a ceasefire deal brought the war to a halt in Gaza last month. Israel’s military did not immediately respond to request for comment on the report.
Also Wednesday, the military said its troops struck a group of six fighters in the southern city of Rafah, killing one. The military statement said that the fighters 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 said at least 69,775 Palestinians have been killed and 170,863 injured in Israel’s offensive in Gaza. It does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its figures, but has said women and children make up a majority of those killed. The ministry is staffed by medical professionals and maintains detailed records viewed as generally reliable by independent experts.
Turkish, Qatari and Egyptian officials meet on ceasefire
Türkiye's intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin met in Cairo on Tuesday with Qatar’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and Egypt’s intelligence chief Hassan Rashad to discuss advancing to the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement, a Turkish security official said.
The talks also centered on intensifying joint efforts with the United States to strengthen the truce, according to the official who requested anonymity in line with Turkish regulations.
The three also agreed to deepen cooperation with the Civil-Military Coordination Center (CMCC) to remove obstacles and prevent violations, ensuring the ceasefire is upheld without interruption, the official added.
Indonesia prepares troops for Gaza stabilization force
Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation with a long experience in UN peacekeeping missions, is among the countries the US has discussed the ISF plan with, in addition to Azerbaijan, Egypt and Qatar.
“We are now in the selection phase for the peacekeeping force,” Gen. Agus Subianto, Chief of the Indonesian Armed Forces or TNI, told reporters Tuesday after a hearing with lawmakers in the capital, Jakarta. “Later, it’s planned that the mission will be led by a three-star general.”
He said the contingent will form a composite brigade consisting of health, engineering and mechanized support battalions. TNI is also preparing supporting assets for the mission in Gaza, including three hospital warships, the C-130 Hercules military transport aircraft and a helicopter.
Defense Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin added that the final deployment awaits an official order from President Prabowo Subianto but “troops are already undergoing mission-specific training.”
Prabowo has repeatedly declared that his country was ready to deploy 20,000 peacekeepers to Gaza at any time.
The UN reported that Indonesia had been the fifth-largest uniformed personnel contributor, deploying 2,731 individuals on peacekeeping operations as of September.
