The families of Israeli hostages demanded on Monday that the next steps in the US-brokered Gaza ceasefire plan be put on hold until Hamas returns the 13 remaining bodies of deceased captives.
In a statement, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum noted that two weeks have passed since the agreement’s deadline for the return of all 48 hostages, 13 of whom remain in Hamas captivity.
”The families urge the Government of Israel, the United States administration, and the mediators not to advance to the next phase of the agreement until Hamas fulfils all of its obligations and returns every hostage to Israel,” the association said.
The ceasefire, which took effect on October 10, ended the war triggered by Hamas’s cross-border attack that killed 1,221 people in Israel and saw 251 taken hostage. Israel’s subsequent assault on Gaza killed at least 68,527 people, according to figures from the territory’s health ministry that the UN considers reliable.
Under the terms of the deal, brokered by the US, Qatar, and Egypt, Hamas has released its 20 remaining living hostages and the remains of 15 of the 28 Israel had confirmed dead. The 13 bodies yet to be returned include 11 Israelis and two foreign workers from Thailand and Tanzania.
Hamas insists it is committed to the ceasefire but faces “challenges in locating the bodies.” Lead negotiator Khalil al-Hayya said Saturday that the search is hampered because “the occupation has altered the terrain of Gaza.”
“Moreover, some of those who buried the bodies have been martyred or no longer remember where they buried them,” he said.
In the past two days, Egypt has sent recovery crews and heavy earth-moving equipment into Gaza, with Israeli approval, to aid the recovery operation.
No firm timescale has been set for the next stages of the plan, but the US is working to establish an international security force with troops from Arab and Muslim nations to police the truce. The US military has also set up a coordination centre in southern Israel to monitor the ceasefire and coordinate reconstruction.
However, aid agencies are pushing for greater humanitarian access inside Gaza. Israel has withdrawn its forces from Gaza’s main cities but still controls around half of the territory from positions on a “Yellow Line” and has resisted calls to allow aid through the Rafah border crossing with Egypt.
Share On:
CLICK HERE TO PROMOTE YOUR MUSIC/VIDEO