The Latest: Gaza ceasefire holds as Israeli military says Red Cross to transfer remains of deceased

The fragile ceasefire in Gaza was holding Tuesday after the release of the last surviving hostages as well as Palestinian prisoners and detainees, but there are still concerns about other crucial aspects of a U.S. S. . Plan for the area.

There are many unknowns, such as when Hamas will bring the remaining bodies of the hostages thought to be dead back to Israel and Israel’s demand that a weakened Hamas disarm. It is also uncertain how Gaza will be governed in the future.

U. A. Trump claims he wants the dead hostages who were held in Gaza returned.

The Red Cross is moving four coffins containing the remains of dead hostages to Israeli military custody, the military said.

Here is the most recent information.

According to the Israeli military, the Red Cross is moving four caskets containing the remains of additional hostages who have died.

The Red Cross is moving four caskets containing the remains of dead hostages to Israeli military custody, the military said. Israeli officials announced earlier Tuesday that the Red Cross was en route to a rendezvous in southern Gaza to retrieve “several coffins” of hostages who had passed away.

More dead hostage transfers follow an Israeli military agency’s announcement that it would cut the number of trucks permitted to deliver aid into Gaza in half due to worries that the militant group was returning the bodies of dead hostages more slowly than agreed.

Supporters and relatives of the hostages were shocked to learn that only four of the 28 bodies were returned on Monday.

U. A. In a social media post, President Donald Trump also voiced concern about the low number of dead hostages returned. He didn’t mention that Israel should cut the amount of aid entering the region in half.

According to the wife of a freed hostage, her husband experienced “abuse and suffering.”.

According to Rebecca Bohbot, the wife of Elkana Bohbot, a freed hostage, during a press conference, her husband “didn’t receive food” for several months and endured “abuse and suffering” while in Hamas captivity.

She added that her husband experienced stomachaches as a result of receiving food “in big quantity” closer to his release date in an attempt to improve his appearance. When Bohbot returned home from captivity, her husband was “born anew,” she added with a smile. “.”.

Hamas is ordered by Trump to disarm and return the dead hostages.

Trump threatens to disarm Hamas if “they don’t disarm,” stating that he wants the dead hostages who are being held in Gaza returned. “.”.

The U. A. Speaking at the White House during the visit of Argentine President Javier Milei, the president made the remark.

It comes after an Israeli military agency announced that it would cut the number of trucks permitted to deliver humanitarian aid into the devastated area in half as a response to a “violation” of the truce agreement.

Talks about his return after being released from Hamas captivity.

Eli Sharabi, who was released earlier this year from Hamas captivity, spoke on Israel’s Channel 12 about his reunion with friend and fellow former hostage Alon Ohel and the return of his brother’s body.

“Very emotional,” Sharabi said of meeting Ohel, describing him as “an amazing boy, strong, a survivor.”. He claimed that the two talked about implementing plans they had made together while in captivity and were happy that Ohel had come home to his family in a healthy and positive state. Before Ohel returned, Sharabi talked in-depth and in public about the unique, father-son relationship the two formed while imprisoned in Hamas tunnels.

The return of his brother Yossi Sharabi’s body, who perished in captivity, was another thought Sharabi considered. “Now his wife and daughters will have a grave to grieve over,” he remarked.

Due to the delayed return of the dead hostages, Israel intends to cut aid into Gaza in half.

With the gradual release of the bodies of dead hostages the militant group captured in October, Israel is accusing Hamas of breaking a ceasefire agreement that has been in place for days. Israel intends to cut the number of aid trucks permitted into Gaza in half and restrict the distribution of aid into the war-torn region. March 7, 2023.

U was informed of the cut. S. . officials and foreign aid organizations, according to three AP sources who were asked to speak about the issue under anonymity.

The Israeli military organization responsible for sending aid to Gaza and the Israeli government remained silent.

By Giovanna Dell’Orto and Sam Mednick.

Crisis persists, the UN humanitarian office in Gaza warns.

Olga Cherevko, the U.S. spokesperson. “N.”. While there is relief for the first time in months, the humanitarian office in Gaza warned that their work is far from over. On Tuesday, they reported that 817 trucks of aid had entered Gaza since the ceasefire went into effect last week.

“The fighting has stopped, but the crisis hasn’t,” she told reporters during a virtual briefing.

On Tuesday, Cherevko told reporters that their office had been notified earlier in the day by COGAT that crossings would be closed and aid deliveries would be restricted.

At a virtual briefing, she stated, “We have received this communication from the Israeli authorities and, of course, we continue to encourage the parties to adhere to the agreements that have been set out in the ceasefire parameters.”. It is our sincere hope that the hostages’ bodies will be turned over and that the ceasefire will be upheld. “”.

“Humanitarian workers will continue to pick up what they can and move things through the pipeline in case the decision by Israeli authorities is reversed,” she added, even though the border crossings are closed to aid.

According to the UN food agency, opening all Gaza crossings is a top priority.

U. N. . He hopes that world leaders who attended Monday’s summit in Egypt will advance the goal of opening all crossings for food aid to flood the Gaza Strip, according to the director of the World Food Program for Gaza.

Antoine Renard stated, “We think the ceasefire paves the way for a scale-up, but it’s just the beginning in terms of a proper recovery.”. What is so insistent is that you have the ability to reach people wherever they are. “.”.

since October. 5. The U. No. He claimed to have restored ten industrial bakeries in central and southern Gaza. “Roughly half a million people are now receiving bread.”. That is insufficient, though. “”.

The U. N. . According to Renard, the company intends to scale up to at least two dozen bakeries.

The first forty-five bodies of Palestinians detained by Israel are delivered to a Gaza hospital.

On Tuesday, the Nasser Hospital in Gaza announced that it had received the first forty-five Palestinian bodies that the Israeli military had detained since October. 7, 2023, the attack led by Hamas that started the conflict.

A ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas included the International Committee of the Red Cross transferring the bodies. The hospital stated that 450 bodies in all were to be sent back to Gaza from Israel.

Some of the bodies had been tortured and had their hands bound, according to the hospital. When and how they died were not immediately apparent.

The final 20 hostages were handed over to Israel on Monday in return for 1,808 Palestinian detainees and prisoners. The bodies of 24 hostages under the ceasefire agreement have not yet been returned by Hamas.

In Israeli prisons, Palestinians released in previous exchanges have complained of regular beatings, inadequate food, and lack of access to healthcare. A U.S. “N.”. The report stated that since October… Israel has detained thousands of Palestinians incommunicado and arbitrarily since July 7, 2023; they have frequently been blindfolded, shackled, denied access to food, water, sleep, and medical care, and have endured torture or other cruel treatment.

Israel maintains that it treats inmates in accordance with both domestic and international legal standards and that any infractions committed by prison staff are looked into. In charge of prisons, far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has made repeated claims to make conditions for Palestinian inmates as harsh as possible while still adhering to the letter of the law.

The German Chancellor says efforts to bring about a sustainable peace in the Middle East are just getting started.

One of the leaders who attended the summit in Egypt on Monday, Chancellor Friedrich Merz, stated on Tuesday that “the really hard work on what can and must come of this starts now.”. There are risks, of course; we must recognize these risks,” he continued, adding that he sees more opportunities than risks. We must maintain our realism. “.”.

Merz recounted saying to his Egyptian colleagues, “I don’t want to be sitting with the same group in half a year and having to ask: What went wrong?”.

Israel names two hostages who have died.

Two of the dead hostages returned from Gaza on Monday were identified by the Israeli military as Guy Illouz from Israel and Bipin Joshi, a Nepali student.

They were both in their 20s when they were captured in October by militants led by Hamas. The war was started by an attack on July 7, 2023. Joshi was kidnapped from a bomb shelter and Illouz from a music festival.

According to Israel, Joshi was killed in captivity during the early months of the war, and Illouz passed away from his wounds while being held captive without receiving the necessary medical care.

The plan for a ceasefire that U. S. . The return of “all hostages, alive and deceased” must occur within 72 hours of the agreement’s approval, according to President Donald Trump. However, it also included a contingency plan in case that didn’t work out, stating that Hamas should “exert maximum effort to ensure the fulfillment of these commitments as soon as possible” and share information about any hostages that may still be alive. Israel would also furnish information regarding the remains of Palestinians who perished while in Israeli custody, according to the agreement signed last week.

According to Egypt, a 15-person Palestinian committee has been chosen to oversee Gaza.

Ahead of Monday’s summit, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty told The Associated Press that 15 Palestinian technocrats have been chosen to run Gaza after the war. Without revealing their names, he claimed that Israel had already reviewed them.

“We need to deploy them to take care of the daily life of the people in Gaza, and the Board of Peace should support and supervise the flow of finance and money, which will come for the reconstruction of Gaza,” he said, alluding to a board that would oversee Gaza and be led by the United States. S. . Donald Trump, the President.

According to Abdelatty, all Palestinian factions, including Hamas, had already given their approval to the 15-member committee.

He said Trump’s plan was well received by Hamas members. In the period of transition, they “have no role.”. They’re determined to do that. For this reason, they are developing a Palestinian administrative committee that will be put into place to manage the day-to-day affairs of Gaza’s residents,” Abdelatty stated.

In order to guarantee civilian security, Israel must comply with a withdrawal from Gaza, allowing aid to flow and the administrative committee to be deployed on the ground, Abdelatty said. He said that Hamas must also keep its promises.

With assistance from the United States, Egypt declared that it would host a conference on Gaza’s recovery and reconstruction. S. . Germany as well.

The prime minister of Spain claims that those responsible for the destruction of Gaza must face legal action.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez stated on Tuesday that despite the tenuous ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, those accountable for the devastation in Gaza should be held accountable.

Sánchez stated that “the main actors in the genocide that has been perpetrated in Gaza” should not go unpunished, but he did not name Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu or other members of his administration.

“There can be no impunity; peace cannot equate to forgetting. The top war crimes court in the world has issued arrest warrants against Netanyahu and his former defense minister for Israel’s military offensive in Gaza. Sánchez said, “There are cases open now in the International Criminal Court,” to Spanish radio station Cadena SER.

With Sánchez last month referring to Israel’s actions in Gaza as a genocide, Spain was among the harshest European critics of Israel’s two-year war in that territory.

Red Cross: It’s more difficult to recover dead hostages than to free living ones.

Finding and returning the remains of former hostages in Gaza is “an even bigger challenge” than freeing those who were still alive, the International Committee of the Red Cross is warning.

When the last 20 hostages were freed and nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees were turned over to the humanitarian organization on Monday, Christian Cardon, an official with the International Committee of the Red Cross, described how the remains of four dead hostages were sent back to Israel.

“It’s clear that finding human remains is a greater challenge than releasing the living,” he stated at a U.S. N. Geneva news briefing.

Cardon stated, “There will be human remains handed over from both sides” in the future, and the ICRC will once more play a part in the “very sensitive operation,” though he could not predict when that might occur. He mentioned unexploded ordnance and the difficulty of body identification when he said that finding remains would be a “massive challenge.”.

Palestinians who have been freed talk about the terrible conditions in Israeli prisons.

A unique window into the direct health effects of incarceration in Israel is provided by the release of almost 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees.

Doctors and freed prisoners in the occupied West Bank told The Associated Press that some of those released on Monday are dealing with a variety of health issues that they developed during years in Israeli detention.

“My shoulder was torn after I was struck on it. Kamal Abu Shanab, 51, who was released from prison after serving more than 18 years, said, “I wasn’t even given a pill for the pain for eight months.”. Israel’s list of exchanged prisoners states that he was found guilty in 2007 of “military training, voluntary manslaughter, and membership in an unrecognized organization” by a military court.

In the exchange, 14 men were released on Monday and all but two were discharged to the Palestine Medical Complex in Ramallah. According to medical professionals who examined the men, their health indicated that they had been beaten.

According to Imed al-Shami, a resident physician at the hospital’s emergency department, “it shows that these patients were subjected to severe beatings, reflecting the extent of the violence they endured.”.

The AP was unable to independently confirm the statements. According to the Israel Prison Service, it had no knowledge of these allegations. The agency said in a statement on Tuesday that all prisoners are detained in accordance with the law and that their rights, such as access to healthcare and decent housing, are respected.

Israel claims that it follows the law’s requirements for prisons and looks into any allegations of infractions. However, these claims align with earlier research published by human rights organizations and media outlets.

According to the UN, the amount of rubble in Gaza is equal to thirteen enormous pyramids.

The U. “N.”. The amount of debris in Gaza, according to the development agency, would fill Central Park in New York to a height of 12 meters (about 40 feet) or be sufficient to construct 13 enormous pyramids in Giza, Egypt.

According to UNDP administrator Jaco Cillers, special representative for a program that aids Palestinians, the most recent joint estimate from the U. N. . According to the European Union and the World Bank, rebuilding Gaza will cost $70 billion. The September total was higher than the February estimate of $53 billion.

He stated that the total amount of damage and debris in Gaza is estimated to be around 55 million tons. Another way to put it, excluding the Central Park example I gave, is that it’s equivalent to 13 pyramids in Giza. “”.

It’s the magnitude and scope of the problem,” Cillers told a U. “N.”. press briefing from Jerusalem via video in Geneva.

Twenty billion dollars would be required in the next three years, he said, with the remaining funds being required over a longer time frame, perhaps decades.

Although Cillers did not elaborate, he cited “good indications” from possible donors, including those in the US, Europe, and the Arab world.

Erdogan claims that the agreement reached in Egypt does not constitute a peace treaty.

The U.S. and other countries must put pressure on Israel to ensure its compliance, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan emphasized, adding that an agreement signed in Egypt is a framework for a ceasefire rather than a peace agreement.

After returning from the ceremony in the Sharm el-Sheikh resort late Monday, the Turkish leader told reporters that a two-state solution that acknowledges Palestinian statehood is the only workable option.

According to a transcript of his remarks released on Tuesday, he stated, “Turkey is determined to continue working toward this goal.”.

Erdogan cited Israel’s alleged poor record of upholding ceasefires when he said that the United States and others should make sure that the country complies with the agreement.

Erdogan stated that talks regarding the composition and function of a task force for the area were still ongoing and declined to confirm whether Turkish troops would be sent to Gaza. However, he stated that the reconstruction and humanitarian assistance, including the potential delivery of container homes to Gaza, were the main priorities of his administration.