JERUSALEM (AP) — When the bodies of two dozen Palestinians killed in Israeli attacks…
JERUSALEM (AP) — Like the bodies of 20 Palestinians killed in Israeli attacks Arriving at hospitals in Gaza on Wednesday, the director of one hospital asked a question that has been echoing through the war-torn region for months.
“Where is the ceasefire? Where are the mediators?” Mohamed Abu Selmiya of Shifa Hospital wrote on Facebook.
At least 556 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks since a US-brokered ceasefire came into force in October, including 24 on Wednesday and 30 on Saturday, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. During the same period, four Israeli soldiers were killed in Gaza, while more were injured, including one soldier who the army said was seriously injured when militants opened fire overnight near the ceasefire line in northern Gaza.
Other aspects of the deal have stalled, including the deployment of an international security force, the disarmament of Hamas and the start of Gaza’s reconstruction. The opening of the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt raised hopes for further progress, but fewer than fifty people were allowed to cross the border on Monday.
Hostages released while other issues languish
In October, after months of stalled negotiations, Israel and Hamas accepted a 20-point plan proposed by US President Donald Trump aimed at ending the war sparked by Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
Trump said at the time that this would lead to a “strong, lasting and everlasting peace.”
Hamas freed all the living hostages it held at the start of the deal, in exchange for thousands of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel and the remains of others.
But the larger issues the deal sought to address, including the future governance of the Strip, were met with reservations, and the U.S. offered no definitive timeline.
The return of hostages’ remains now stretched well beyond the 72-hour timeline set out in the agreement. Israel recovered the body of the last hostage last week, after Hamas and other militant groups were accused of violating the ceasefire by not returning all the bodies. The militants said yes cannot immediately locate all remains due to the massive destruction caused by the war – a claim Israel has rejected.
The ceasefire also called for an immediate influx of humanitarian aid, including equipment to clear rubble and rehabilitate infrastructure. The United Nations and humanitarian organizations say aid deliveries have been made to the 2 million Palestinians in Gaza fell short due to customs clearance issues and other delays. COGAT, the Israeli military body that oversees aid to Gaza, has called the UN’s claims “simply a lie.”
The ceasefire holds despite accusations
Gaza’s health ministry said violence has fallen sharply since the ceasefire paused a war in which more than 71,800 Palestinians have been killed. The ministry is part of the Hamas-led government and maintains detailed data that is considered widely reliable by UN agencies and independent experts.
Hamas-led militants killed about 1,200 people and took about 250 hostage in the first attack in October 2023.
Both sides say the agreement is still in force and use the word “armistice” in their communications. But Israel accuses Hamas fighters of operating outside the ceasefire line and splitting Gaza in two, threatening its forces and occasionally opening fire, while Hamas accuses Israeli forces of gunfire and attacks on residential areas far from the line.
Palestinians have appealed to American and Arab mediators to persuade Israel to stop carrying out deadly attacks, which often kill civilians. The dead on Wednesday included five children, including two infants. Hamas, which accuses Israel of hundreds of violations, called it a “serious circumvention of the ceasefire.”
In a joint statement on Sunday, eight Arab and Muslim countries condemned Israel’s actions since the deal took effect and called for restraint from all sides “to preserve and enforce the ceasefire.”
Israel says it is responding to daily violations committed by Hamas and acting to protect its forces. “While Hamas’s actions undermine the ceasefire, Israel remains fully committed to its enforcement,” the military said in a statement on Wednesday.
“One of the scenarios the military must be ready for is that Hamas uses a deception tactic like they did before October 7 and rearms and prepares for an attack at their convenience,” said Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, a military spokesman.
Some signs of progress
The return of the remains of the last hostage, the limited opening of the Rafah border crossing and the naming of a Palestinian commission Gaza’s administration and reconstruction oversight showed a willingness to advance the agreement despite the violence.
Last month, US envoy Steve Witkoff, who played a key role in brokering the truce, said it was time for “the transition from a ceasefire to demilitarization, technocratic governance and reconstruction.”
That will require Israel and Hamas to grapple with key issues on which they are deeply divided, including whether Israel will fully withdraw from Gaza and whether Hamas will lay down its arms.
Although political leaders are sticking to the term ‘ceasefire’ and have not yet withdrawn from the process, despair is growing in Gaza.
On Saturday, Atallah Abu Hadaiyed heard explosions in Gaza City during his morning prayers. He ran outside and saw his cousins lying on the ground as flames curled around them.
“We don’t know if we are at war or at peace,” he said from a displaced persons camp, as tarpaulins blew off the tent behind him.
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Associated Press reporter Wafaa Shurafa in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, contributed to this report.
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