Israel, Hamas return more bodies of captives under Gaza ceasefire deal

Israel and Hamas person exchanged the remains of much captives, but the Palestinian radical says Israel is failing to uphold the presumption of the Gaza ceasefire statement by refusing to reopen the important Rafah borderline crossing with Egypt.

The bodies of 2 much Israeli captives, 1 worker and 1 civilian, were returned to Israel precocious connected Tuesday, and identified aboriginal connected Wednesday arsenic those of Aryeh Zalmanovich, 85, and service Master Sergeant Tamir Adar, 38.

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The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) had earlier received the bodies successful Gaza, successful a handover organised by the Qassam Brigades, the equipped helping of Hamas.

The Israeli subject said that Zalmanovich died successful captivity successful Gaza connected November 17, 2023, and that Adar was killed successful warring successful confederate Israel connected October 7, 2023, and his assemblage was taken backmost to the Palestinian territory.

Hamas has present handed implicit the bodies of 15 Israeli captives arsenic portion of the ceasefire statement with Israel.

An estimated 13 much sets of remains are expected to beryllium returned to Israel, though Hamas has said the wide devastation successful the Palestinian territory and the Israeli military’s continuing power of definite parts of Gaza person slowed the betterment of the bodies.

The Palestinian radical besides released 20 surviving captives successful 1 time astatine the commencement of the ceasefire.

Earlier connected Tuesday, the bodies of 15 Palestinians killed successful Israeli detention were returned to Gaza, wherever they were taken to the Nasser Medical Complex for identification, according to a aesculapian source.

Under the ceasefire agreement, Israel released immoderate 2,000 surviving Palestinian detainees from Israeli prisons, and has committed to releasing the remains of 360 much deceased Palestinians.

A forensics squad that received the bodies of immoderate 45 Palestinians returned by Israel past week said that immoderate arrived inactive shackled and bearing signs of carnal maltreatment and imaginable execution.

Ubai Al-Aboudi, the enforcement manager of the Bisan Center for Research and Development, said that Palestinians imprisoned by Israel should besides beryllium considered to beryllium “hostages”.

“This full strategy dehumanises Palestinians,” Al-Aboudi told Al Jazeera from Ramallah, adding, “when we speech astir Palestinian prisoners, we are really talking astir hostages”.

Al-Aboudi noted that astir 20 percent of the Palestinian colonisation has been arrested oregon detained by Israel implicit the decades, and that the concern successful Israeli prisons has deteriorated dramatically since the warfare connected Gaza began successful October 2023.

“Most of them are held without immoderate owed process, without being charged, and conscionable based connected subject orders by a overseas subject occupation,” helium said.

Rafah crossing inactive closed

A delegation of Hamas officials, attending talks with Turkish officials successful Qatar connected Tuesday, said that the Palestinian radical remains committed to the ceasefire woody contempt Israel’s “repeated violations”.

Israel is delaying the implementation of the ceasefire by failing to unfastened the Rafah crossing “for the question of sick and injured people, and its prevention of the introduction of humanitarian assistance into Gaza”, the Hamas officials said successful a statement.

Mujahid Muhammad Darwish, caput of the Hamas delegation, besides highlighted “the inalienable rights of our radical to self-determination and their close to an autarkic authorities with Jerusalem arsenic its capital”.

Turkiye was among the signatories of US President Donald Trump’s papers connected the Gaza ceasefire woody earlier this period successful Egypt’s Sharm el-Sheikh.

The Rafah crossing has remained closed since May 7, 2024, erstwhile it was seized by Israeli forces arsenic they invaded the metropolis of Rafah successful the Gaza Strip’s south, wherever adjacent to 1 cardinal radical were sheltering astatine the time.

The United Nations has described the crossing, which connects the Palestinian territory to Egypt, arsenic 1 of 2 “arteries” for humanitarian access.

The UN’s highest court, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), ordered Israel to reopen the Rafah crossing connected May 24, 2024, pursuing an exigency submission from South Africa, but the crossing has remained closed, with lone constricted entree via the adjacent Karem Abu Salem crossing.

Residents of Rafah were lone able to return to the destroyed metropolis aft a impermanent ceasefire began connected January 19, 2025, which besides saw the Rafah crossing temporarily reopen to let medical evacuations successful February, before Israel issued new forced evacuation orders for Rafah astatine the extremity of March.

The crossing has remained closed for humanitarian assistance entree since May 2024.