Palestinian militant group Hamas handed over two bodies of deceased Israeli hostages on Thursday, a day after the tenuous Gaza ceasefire was shaken by a series of deadly Israeli strikes across Gaza.
The bodies of hostages Amiram Cooper and Sahar Baruch were returned to Israel for burial after an identification process was completed, the Israeli military said in a statement late on Thursday.
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the bodies had been received by Israeli forces via the Red Cross in Gaza and were being transported into Israel for identification and handover to their families.
Under the ceasefire accord, Hamas released all living hostages in return for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and wartime detainees, while Israel pulled back its troops, halted its offensive and increased aid into the enclave.
Hamas also agreed to hand over the remains of all 28 dead hostages in exchange for 360 Palestinian militants killed in the war. Up to Thursday, it had handed over 15 bodies.
Israel says Hamas has been too slow to hand over the remaining bodies of hostages still in Gaza. Hamas says it will take time to locate and retrieve all of the remains.
Families of some of the hostages are desperate to provide a proper burial for their loved ones and fear their remains will be lost forever beneath the ruins of Gaza.
Thousands of Palestinians believed to be dead are still missing amid the vast destruction.
Major obstacles to Trump’s plan
The dispute over the recovery and handover of bodies of hostages has been one of the difficulties complicating U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan to end the Gaza war for good.
Numerous major obstacles still lie ahead, including the future administration of Gaza and the demand for Hamas to disarm. At the same time, both sides have traded blame for violating the truce.
From Tuesday into Wednesday, Israel retaliated for a Palestinian attack on its troops, which left one soldier dead, with bombardments that Gaza health authorities said killed 104 people.
The Gaza health ministry said 46 children and 20 women were among the dead. Israel said its strikes had targeted dozens of militants.
More airstrikes on Thursday
Witnesses said Israeli planes carried out 10 airstrikes in areas east of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, while tanks shelled areas east of Gaza City in the north before dawn on Thursday. No casualties were reported.
The Israeli military said it carried out “precise” strikes against “terrorist infrastructure that posed a threat to the troops” in the areas of Gaza where its forces are still deployed.
Gaza residents said they feared a resumption of hostilities.
“We’re scared that another war will break out, because we don’t want a war. We’ve suffered two years of displacement. We don’t know where to go or where to come,” said Fathi Al-Najjar, a displaced man in Khan Younis.
At the tent encampment where Najjar spoke, girls and boys were filling plastic bottles with water from metal containers placed on the side of the street, and women cooked food for their families using clay-made firewood ovens.
The war has displaced most of Gaza’s more than two million people, some of them several times. Many have not yet returned to their areas, fearing they could soon be displaced once again.
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