 "Hamas to hand over two more hostages’ bodies as Rafah crossing remains closed")
Hamas announced on Saturday that it will hand over the bodies of two hostages later in the day, following Israel’s warning that the main crossing from Egypt into Gaza would remain closed until the remains of all deceased captives are returned.
The armed wing of Hamas, the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, said on its Telegram channel that the handover would take place at 10:00 PM local time (1900 GMT), specifying that the bodies of two Israeli captives recovered earlier in Gaza would be delivered.
This comes as the UN relief chief called for extensive humanitarian assistance for Gaza, where infrastructure and homes remain severely damaged after weeks of conflict.
Under the ceasefire brokered by US President Donald Trump, Hamas has already released all 20 living hostages and returned the remains of nine Israelis and one Nepalese. The most recent handover, on Friday night, was identified by Israel as Eliyahu Margalit, aged 75, who died during Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack.
In return, Israel has released nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and 135 Palestinian bodies since the truce took effect on October 10.
The Palestinian mission in Cairo indicated that the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt could reopen as early as Monday, initially for Gazans residing in Egypt wishing to return. However, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office later clarified that the crossing would remain closed until further notice.
“Its reopening will be considered based on how Hamas fulfils its part in returning the hostages and the bodies of the deceased, and in implementing the agreed-upon framework,” it said, referring to the week-old ceasefire deal.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsFurther delays to the reopening of Rafah could complicate the task facing Tom Fletcher, the UN head of humanitarian relief, who was in Gaza on Saturday.
The British diplomat and his team travelled in a convoy of SUVs to see a wastewater treatment plant in Sheikh Radwan, north of Gaza City.
“I drove through here seven to eight months ago when most of these buildings were still standing and, to see the devastation – this is a vast part of the city, just a wasteland – and it’s absolutely devastating to see,” he told AFP.
Digging latrines
Surveying the damaged pumping equipment and a lake of sewage at the Sheikh Radwan wastewater plant, Fletcher said the task ahead for the UN and aid agencies was a “massive, massive job”.
He said he had met residents returning to destroyed homes who were trying to dig latrines in the ruins.
“They’re telling me most of all they want dignity,” he said. “We’ve got to get the power back on so we can start to get the sanitation system back in place.
“We have a massive 60-day plan now to surge in food, get a million meals out there a day, start to rebuild the health sector, bring in tents for the winter, get hundreds of thousands of kids back into school.”
The Rafah crossing has yet to reopen but, just over a week since the brokering of the truce, hundreds of trucks are rolling in each day via Israeli checkpoints and aid is being distributed.
According to figures supplied to mediators by the Israeli military’s civil affairs agency and released by the UN humanitarian office, on Thursday some 950 trucks carrying aid and commercial supplies crossed into Gaza from Israel.
Relief agencies have called for the Rafah border crossing to be reopened to speed the flow of food, fuel and medicines, and Turkey has a team of rescue specialists waiting at the border to help find hostage bodies in the rubble.
‘What did they do wrong?
Some violent has persisted despite the ceasefire.
Gaza’s civil defence agency, which operates under Hamas authority, said on Saturday that it had recovered the bodies of nine Palestinians – two men, three women and four children – from the Shaaban family after Israeli troops fired two tank shells at a bus.
Two more victims were blown apart in the blast and their remains have yet to be recovered, it said.
At Gaza City’s Al-Ahli Hospital, the victims were laid out in white shrouds as their relatives mourned.
“My daughter, her children and her husband; my son, his children and his wife were killed. What did they do wrong?” demanded grandmother Umm Mohammed Shaaban. “They were little… What did they do wrong? There is no truce.”
The military said it had fired on a vehicle that approached the so-called “yellow line”, to which its forces withdrew under the terms of the ceasefire, and gave no estimate of casualties
“The troops fired warning shots toward the suspicious vehicle, but the vehicle continued to approach the troops in a way that caused an imminent threat to them,” the military said.
“The troops opened fire to remove the threat, in accordance with the agreement.”
With inputs from agencies
 "‘Queens say no kings’: Thousands rally across US against Trump’s rule; GOP calls them ‘hate-America’ rallies")
 "Nepal’s Gen Z announces plans to form political party ahead of 2026 polls")
 "‘Massive success’: Inspired by India’s Aadhaar, Starmer announces Brit card for UK citizens")
 "US govt shutdown nears record length: What it means for workers, federal programmes and the economy")
 "‘Queens say no kings’: Thousands rally across US against Trump’s rule; GOP calls them ‘hate-America’ rallies")
 "Nepal’s Gen Z announces plans to form political party ahead of 2026 polls")
 "‘Massive success’: Inspired by India’s Aadhaar, Starmer announces Brit card for UK citizens")
 "US govt shutdown nears record length: What it means for workers, federal programmes and the economy")
