Israel, Hamas trade blame over Gaza truce violations, Rafah border reopening in question
With the Rafah crossing uncertain, disputes over the return of hostages and disarmament reveal a rift threatening the US-brokered plan
Israel said on Thursday it was preparing for the reopening of Gaza’s Rafah crossing with Egypt to let Palestinians in and out, but set no date as it traded blame with Hamas over violations of the US-mediated ceasefire.
A row over the return of bodies of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza retains the potential to upend the truce along with other major planks of the plan yet to be resolved, including disarmament of militants and Gaza’s future governance.
Israel demanded that Hamas fulfil its obligations in turning over the unrecovered bodies of all 28 hostages who died during the war. The Islamist faction said it had handed over 10 bodies, but Israel said one of them was not that of a hostage.
“We will not compromise on this, and we will spare no effort until our fallen hostages return, every last one of them,” Israel’s government spokesperson said on Wednesday.
The armed wing of Hamas said the handover of more bodies in Gaza, which was reduced to vast tracts of rubble by the war, would require the admission of heavy machinery and excavating equipment into the Israel-blockaded Palestinian enclave.
On Thursday, a senior Hamas official accused Israel of flouting the ceasefire by having killed at least 24 people in shootings since Friday, and said a list of such violations was handed over to mediators.