The fragile ceasefire in Gaza faced its first test on Tuesday when Israel said the flow of aid into the devastated Palestinian territory would be cut by half, accusing Hamas of breaching the US-brokered agreement by withholding the bodies of Israeli hostages.
Late on Tuesday night, the Israeli military said the Red Cross is transferring to its custody four coffins containing the remains of deceased hostages.
Israeli authorities said earlier that the Red Cross was on its way to a meeting point in southern Gaza to pick up “several coffins” of deceased hostages.
Families of hostages and their supporters expressed dismay that only four of the 28 bodies were returned on Monday.
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US president Donald Trump also expressed concern in a social media post that too few of the dead hostages have been returned.
He made no mention of Israel halving the flow of aid into the territory.
On Monday, Israelis celebrated the return of the last 20 living hostages in Gaza and Palestinians rejoiced at Israel’s release of nearly 2,000 prisoners and detainees as part of the ceasefire’s first phase.
Hamas also returned the remains of four dead hostages, but had previously warned that recovering those of another 24 still in Gaza may take longer as not all burial sites have been identified.
However, Israeli military officials believe Hamas knows where more of the hostages’ remains are to be found and have deliberately delayed their transfer, Haaretz newspaper reported.
Earlier, Mr Trump urged Hamas to release the remaining bodies, saying it was necessary to enable the next phase of the Gaza plan.
“A big burden has been lifted, but the job IS NOT DONE. THE DEAD HAVE NOT BEEN RETURNED, AS PROMISED!” Trump posted on social media. “Phase Two begins right NOW!!!”
Early tensions in the ceasefire were widely expected as Hamas and Israel seek to gain advantage during the implementation of the ill-defined 20-point plan proposed by the US president.
But the move to restrict aid and postpone the opening of Rafah – a major crossing point that would allow supplies to enter Gaza from outside Israel – will come as a shock nonetheless.
The crossing was due to open on Wednesday in line with the 20-point agreement agreed last week, which called for a surge of aid at levels last seen during the short-lived ceasefire in March.
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The ceasefire plan also called for “all hostages, alive and deceased” to be returned within 72 hours of the agreement’s acceptance, but provided a mechanism if that did not happen, saying that Hamas should share information about any remaining deceased hostages and “exert maximum effort to ensure the fulfilment of these commitments as soon as possible”.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) acknowledged on Tuesday that delays could be expected, describing handing over the remains of all hostages as a “massive challenge” given the difficulties of finding bodies amid the territory’s rubble.
“The search for human remains, it’s obviously [an] even bigger challenge than having ... the people alive being released,” Christian Cardon, an ICRC official, said at a news briefing in Geneva.
After the celebrations on Monday, tensions rose throughout a day of sporadic violence in Gaza.
Israeli forces, which pulled back from Gaza City and some other parts of Gaza on Saturday, opened fire on civilians who approached their positions in two separate incidents, reportedly killing six. Under the ceasefire deal, Israeli forces have pulled back to a so-called “yellow line” but still hold slightly more than half of Gaza.
Mahmud Bassal, spokesperson for the Gaza civil defence agency, said five people were killed by drones as they inspected their homes in the Shujaiya district of Gaza City and another died in a drone strike southeast of Khan Younis city.
The Israeli military said its forces had opened fire after repeated warnings to “suspects” who had been identified as threats after approaching their positions in the first incident and a former Hamas arms cache in the second.
Hazem Qassem, a Hamas spokesperson, said that the shootings had broken the ceasefire arrangements and Israel was trying to “evade its commitments to the mediators”.
There were further reports of shootings, beatings and firefights across much of Gaza as Hamas continued efforts to reimpose its authority in the territory, sending armed fighters on to the streets and targeting those opposed to its continued rule or aligned with Israel.
In a video circulated late on Monday, Hamas fighters dragged seven men with hands tied behind their backs into a Gaza City square, forced them to their knees and shot them from behind as dozens of onlookers watched from nearby shopfronts.
Mr Trump has given his blessing to Hamas to reassert some control of Gaza, at least temporarily. Israeli officials, who say any final settlement must permanently disarm Hamas, have not so far commented publicly on the reappearance of the group’s fighters on to the streets. – Guardian/AP
