Rafah remains shut as Israel, Hamas trade blame over truce violations

Israel wants return of bodies of hostages; Hamas claims Gazans still being killed

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Israel said on Oct 16 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.

Government spokesperson Shosh Bedrosian told reporters on Oct 16 that Israel remained committed to the agreement and con-

tinued to uphold its obligations, demanding Hamas return the bodies of the 19 deceased hostages it had not handed over.

The Islamist faction has handed over 10 bodies, but Israel said one of them was not that of a hostage. The militant group has said that it has handed over all bodies it could recover.

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 Oct 16, a senior Hamas offi-

cial accused Israel of flouting the ceasefire by having killed at least 24 people in shootings since Oct 10, and said a list of such violations was handed over to mediators.