JERUSALEM/GAZA/UNITED NATIONS/ANKARA/CAPE TOWN - Israel decided on Tuesday to halt the reopening of the Rafah crossing and further reduce humanitarian aid to Gaza, as both sides traded accusations of violating the fragile ceasefire.
The crossing, a key route for aid from Egypt to Gaza, had been scheduled to reopen today.
An Israeli government official, speaking to Xinhua on condition of anonymity, said the Rafah crossing will remain closed and the entry of humanitarian aid will be "drastically" limited until Hamas returns all the bodies of the deceased hostages.
The official described the measures as "sanctions against Hamas" following the group's handover of four bodies on Monday, with 24 remaining in Gaza.
There has been no official announcement of the restrictions from the Prime Minister's office or the security establishment.
London-based Al Araby TV reported that Egyptian teams have begun working in the Gaza Strip to help locate and recover the bodies of Israeli hostages. According to the report, an Israeli technical team is holding consultations with Egyptian officials to coordinate the recovery of the remains of the Israeli captives.
Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem told Xinhua that the technical and logistical challenges resulting from the massive destruction pose serious obstacles to the identification and recovery of the bodies. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has stated that the teams may not be able to find some bodies.
Israel was angered by the limited handover of four bodies, noting that under the ceasefire agreement, Hamas was required to return all 28 bodies held in Gaza by Monday. However, the group informed the mediators that it was facing difficulties locating the burial sites of all of the bodies.
The return of the bodies came after the transfer of the last 20 surviving hostages from Gaza to Israel and the release of about 2,000 Palestinian detainees and prisoners, marking a key phase in the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal.
The two sides have traded accusations of violating the ceasefire, now in its fifth day, over Hamas's failure to hand over all the missing bodies and Israeli fire that killed at least six people in Gaza on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, four more bodies of hostages were in the custody of Israeli forces in Gaza after Hamas handed them over to the ICRC on Tuesday night, the Israeli military and the Shin Bet security agency said in a joint statement.
Israel handed over the remains of 45 Palestinians
Also on Tuesday, Israel handed over the remains of 45 Palestinians to the ICRC, which later transferred them to local authorities in the Gaza Strip as part of the ongoing prisoner exchange deal, medical sources said.
A Gaza-based health official told Xinhua that medical teams at Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis received the remains through the Kerem Shalom crossing. "Work is underway to identify the bodies through DNA testing before handing them over to their families," the official said.
In a brief statement, the ICRC confirmed that it supervised the handover process based on an agreement between the parties and in coordination with the relevant authorities, stressing that the operation was conducted in accordance with humanitarian standards applicable in such cases.
The handover came a day after Hamas released 20 Israeli captives alive and four of the 28 bodies held in Gaza under a ceasefire and prisoner exchange deal mediated by the United States, Egypt, Qatar, and Türkiye following two years of war.
In return, Israel released 1,968 Palestinian prisoners and detainees from its jails, including 1,718 arrested after the start of the war in Gaza on Oct 7, 2023, according to data from Hamas' Prisoner Media Office and Palestinian organizations.
UN scales up Gaza relief operations
Relief operations in Gaza are scaling up since the ceasefire, UN humanitarians said on Tuesday, noting new Israeli capping of truckloads into the strip.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said the Israeli authorities allowed 817 truckloads of relief into Gaza on Sunday. It did not yet have a figure for Monday, and no deliveries were being made on Tuesday. However, the office said there was still an unspecified number of aid truckloads from Monday that had not yet been collected from crossings for distribution in Gaza.
Olga Cherevko, spokesperson for OCHA, noted an Israeli statement saying it would limit the number of aid truckloads entering the Gaza Strip to 300 daily because of the delay by Hamas in releasing the bodies of deceased hostages.
"We have received this important communication from the Israeli authorities, and of course, we continue to encourage the parties to adhere to the agreement that has been set out in the ceasefire granted," said Cherevko in a video briefing from Gaza. "We certainly very much hope that the bodies of the hostages are handed over and that the ceasefire continues to be implemented."
OCHA said it is working with its partners to assess people's needs in areas that had previously been inaccessible. An OCHA team on Tuesday visited the Al Kateeba neighborhood in Khan Younis, one of these areas.
The team reported extensive destruction, with large amounts of rubble visible throughout the neighborhood. Partners began clearing main roads to facilitate movement and humanitarian access within the area.
"Before October 2023, about 17,000 people lived in Al Kateeba," the office said. "Community members expressed their eagerness to re-establish makeshift shelters near their damaged homes. Residents told OCHA's team that clearing roads, leveling land, restoring water access and receiving shelter support are essential first steps to enable people's safe return and recovery."
The office said the world body and its partners continue scaling up operations under their 60-day response plan to reach as many people as possible with life-saving assistance.
The World Health Organization said that within 24 hours of the ceasefire, an emergency medical team was deployed to Al Ahli Hospital in Gaza City, and eight trucks carrying medical supplies, including insulin, lab supplies and essential medicine, entered the strip.
OCHA said a solar panel for a desalination unit in Deir al-Balah was installed along with new telecommunications hardware to improve connectivity for affected people and humanitarian operations. Efforts to clear debris from roads, particularly those leading to crossing points, are also under way.
The office said that the Israeli authorities facilitated four UN-led missions to collect medical, health and shelter supplies from the Kerem Shalom/Karem Abu Salem and Kissufim border crossings.
Farhan Haq, deputy spokesperson for the UN secretary-general, told a regular briefing that the UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS) reported on the severe threat from unexploded ordinance in Gaza. As hundreds of thousands of displaced people and humanitarian workers move through affected areas following the ceasefire, the risk of encountering these deadly remnants of war is high.
UNMAS and partners have been delivering risk education for communities, especially for children, and training humanitarian and construction workers to operate safely since 2023.
"Additionally, explosive ordnance disposal officers evaluate debris along roads and within damaged buildings to determine whether areas are safe to clear," the spokesperson said. "Their guidance and technical expertise are crucial for mitigating explosive ordnance risks during these high-risk operations."
Erdogan: Ceasefire deal not final solution
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday said the ceasefire agreement reached in Egypt's Sharm el-Sheikh should not be mistaken for a final settlement to the Palestinian issue, while urging Israel to honor its commitments and warning against possible violations.
"It would be wrong to view this as a document solving the Palestinian issue. In essence, this is a ceasefire arrangement," he spoke to journalists on his return flight from Egypt.
He added that the only "genuine solution" to the Palestinian cause is the establishment of an independent and sovereign Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
On Monday, Erdogan joined Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, U.S. President Donald Trump, and the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, in signing a document to support the Gaza ceasefire deal at a summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.
"These signatures are not just symbolic -- they mark our commitment to peace as a part of history," the semi-official Anadolu Agency quoted Erdogan as saying.
He urged Israel to honor its commitments under the deal.
"Israel has a poor record of ceasefire violations. This situation forces us to be more vigilant and meticulous," he said, adding that Türkiye, the U.S. and other countries are determined to protect this ceasefire.
ICJ case
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Tuesday that while the recent peace agreement concerning Gaza is welcome, it will not affect the country's case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
The president made the remarks while responding to questions in the National Council of Provinces in Parliament, Cape Town.
"The peace deal that has been struck, which we welcome, will have no bearing on the case that is before the International Court of Justice. The case is proceeding and it now has to go to the stage where Israel has to respond to our pleadings that have been filed in the court and they have to do so by January of next year," Ramaphosa told the house.
While South Africa welcomed the first phase of peace, including the ceasefire and the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, Ramaphosa said that in the end, real justice must be achieved for the people of Palestine.
"We cannot go forward without the healing that needs to take place, which will also result from the case that has been launched being properly heard," he said.
In December 2023, South Africa approached the ICJ seeking an injunction to compel Israel to halt its attacks on Palestine and to declare those acts as genocide. In January and March 2024, the court issued provisional measures, ordering Israel to ensure the immediate provision of basic food supplies in Gaza.
Ramaphosa said that, as a party to the proceedings at the ICJ, South Africa cannot compel the court to expedite its ruling, even as Israel continues to violate several of the provisional measures ordered by the ICJ. However, he emphasized that international efforts are ongoing to end Israel's unlawful actions in Gaza and to ensure accountability for atrocities committed against Palestinians.
"These processes are taking place at the United Nations through The Hague Group, which is a global bloc of states committed to defending international law and acting in solidarity with the people of Palestine," Ramaphosa said.
"The government of South Africa remains resolutely committed to using every available legal and diplomatic avenue to protect the people of Palestine and to uphold the rule of law," he added.
