Israel and Hamas have traded accusations of ceasefire violations amid tensions over the flow of aid into Gaza and warnings that the humanitarian crisis in the devastated territory risks deteriorating further.
The ceasefire deal signed last week between Israel and Hamas raised hopes of a surge of humanitarian aid finally reaching the territory after two years of war, but most restrictions have remained in place, throttling the supply of desperately needed assistance.
Israeli officials said on Thursday that the Rafah crossing with Egypt would remain shut to individuals until Sunday at least – and may not open to humanitarian convoys at all. Aid agencies say opening Rafah, which has been controlled by Israel since May last year, is critical for bringing sufficient humanitarian assistance into the territory.
“We need more fuel to go into Gaza, we need more food, more medical equipment, medications, medics, doctors,” said Hanan Balkhy, the regional director for the WHO, echoing demands by international leaders for Israel to allow in a massive increase of aid.
Israel accused Hamas of violating the ceasefire agreement by failing to return the remains of deceased hostages. On Monday, Hamas returned the last 20 surviving hostages but handed back only nine of 28 deceased captives, saying it would need specialist recovery equipment to retrieve the rest from the ruins of Gaza.
US advisers working on the implementation of Donald Trump’s ceasefire deal, and the Red Cross, have said there are significant practical difficulties in recovering remains of hostages amid the devastation caused by Israel’s offensive during the past 24 months.
Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, said on Thursday he was determined to ensure Hamas handed back the remains of hostages still in Gaza, adding that the fight “is not over yet”. Speaking at a state ceremony for soldiers killed in the two-year conflict, Netanyahu said Israel would achieve all its war aims and that its enemies had “learned that anyone who lifts a hand against it will pay a heavy price”.
A senior Hamas official accused Israel of breaking the ceasefire by killing at least 24 people in shootings since Friday, and said a list of such incidents had been handed over to mediators. “The occupying state is working day and night to undermine the agreement through its violations on the ground,” he said.
The Israeli military did not immediately respond but has previously said some Palestinians have ignored warnings not to approach Israeli ceasefire positions and that troops “opened fire to remove the threat”.
Regional diplomats and US officials have sought to minimise the significance of the accusations, emphasising that Hamas and Israel still appear committed to the ceasefire. Trump’s 20-point plan includes “full aid” reaching Gaza, where a famine was declared in some areas in August, as well as the return of all the Israeli hostages, dead and alive.
Pope Leo XIV denounced the use of hunger as a weapon of war during an address to a UN agency on Thursday, but did not name any specific conflict or region. Aid workers in Gaza described Israel’s continuing restrictions on aid entering Gaza as “collective punishment”.
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Balkhy warned that infectious diseases were “spiralling out of control” in Gaza, with only 13 of the Palestinian territory’s 36 hospitals even partially functioning. “Whether meningitis … diarrhoea, respiratory illnesses, we’re talking about a mammoth amount of work,” she said.
A spokesperson for Cogat, the Israeli defence ministry body that oversees civil affairs in the Palestinian territories, suggested that Rafah would remain closed to aid in the future, although individual passage would be allowed. “It should be emphasised that humanitarian aid will not pass through the Rafah crossing. This was never agreed upon at any stage,” it said, adding that aid continues to enter the Gaza Strip through other crossings
UN officials said on Thursday that the ongoing delays had allowed them to clear more aid with Israeli officials in preparation for when crossings reopen.
Stéphane Dujarric, a UN spokesperson, said a total of 200,000 metric tons of aid had been approved for entry into Gaza for when officials receive the green light to continue their work, and that the aid that was able to make it into the territory on Sunday, including more than a million nappies, was being quickly distributed to Palestinians by various UN agencies.
Regional officials told the Guardian they expected the first days and weeks of the ceasefire to be “tense” and “scratchy”, with aid and the return of the remains of hostages among the key issues. Much of Trump’s plan, including many of the most difficult issues, has yet to be fully discussed by negotiating teams.
On Monday, Israel freed nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees from Israeli jails. This figure includes 1,700 Palestinians who were seized from Gaza during the war and held without charge.
The ceasefire deal also requires Israel to return the bodies of 360 Palestinians. The Gaza health ministry said it had received 30 more bodies of Palestinians on Thursday, bringing the total to 120 since last Friday. Doctors at Nasser hospital said the bodies showed signs of torture and execution, including blindfolds, cuffed hands and bullet wounds in the head, according to doctors’ accounts.
“Almost all of them had been blindfolded, and had been bound up, and they had gunshots between the eyes. Almost all of them had been executed,” said Dr Ahmed al-Farra, the head of Nasser hospital’s paediatric department in Khan Younis.
Trump has said he would consider allowing Israeli forces to resume fighting in Gaza if Hamas failed to uphold its end of the ceasefire deal. “Israel will return to those streets as soon as I say the word. If Israel could go in and knock the crap of them, they’d do that,” the US president was quoted on Wednesday as saying to CNN in a brief telephone call when asked what would happen if Hamas refused to disarm.
In Israel, there have been fierce debates over the fate of the hostages. Arbel Yehud, who was held in captivity for nearly 500 days before being freed under a previous deal in January, said on Wednesday that all the hostages could have returned home “a long time ago”.
Speaking at a press conference alongside families of newly freed hostages, including her partner, Ariel Cunio, who was released this week, Yehud said the deal brokered by Trump could have been struck earlier, in turn saving the lives of more hostages. “While we are here, fortunate to embrace our loved ones, there are dozens of families that never will,” said Yehud.