The tenuous ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war was holding Tuesday even as the return of deceased hostages from Gaza progressed more slowly than Israelis had hoped and health officials in the devastated territory said the Israeli military fatally shot three Palestinians.
A day earlier, Israelis celebrated the return of the last 20 living hostages in Gaza, and Palestinians rejoiced at Israel's release of some 2,000 prisoners and detainees as part of the ceasefire's first phase. But now attention in Israel has turned to when Hamas will return all the bodies of hostages who died in captivity.
While Israeli officials understood there could be some delay in the recovery effort, the families of hostages and their supporters expressed dismay that only four of the 28 bodies were returned on Monday.
The Hostages Family Forum, a grassroots organisation representing many of the hostage families, called it a “blatant violation of the agreement by Hamas.” The top official in Israel coordinating the return of hostages and the missing, Gal Hirsch, told the families in a note that pressure was being applied on Hamas through international mediators to expedite the process. A copy of the note was seen by The Associated Press, and its authenticity was confirmed by someone with knowledge of the statement.
In Gaza, the Health Ministry said Tuesday that the bodies of three people killed by the Israeli military in the northern part of the territory were taken to Al Ahli hospital. The Israeli military said troops there had “opened fire to remove the threat” of several people approaching them and not complying with orders to stop. It didn't immediately comment on any casualties.
Under the ceasefire deal, Israeli forces pulled back to where they were in August, before launching their latest offensive on Gaza City. The pullback leaves several hard-hit Palestinian neighbourhoods under Israeli control, and Israel has warned residents not to try to return to homes there. On Tuesday, the Israeli military identified two of the dead hostages returned from Gaza a day earlier — Guy Illouz from Israel and Bipin Joshi, a student from Nepal. Both were in their 20s when Hamas-led militants took them during the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that ignited the war. Illouz was abducted from a music festival, and Joshi from a bomb shelter.
Israel said Illouz died of his wounds while being held captive without proper medical treatment, while Joshi was murdered in captivity in the first months of the war. The ceasefire plan introduced by US President Donald Trump called for “all hostages, alive and deceased” to be returned within 72 hours of the agreement's acceptance. But it also provided a mechanism if that didn't happen, saying Hamas should share information about any remaining deceased hostages and “exert maximum effort to ensure the fulfilment of these commitments as soon as possible.” The agreement signed last week also said Israel would provide information on the remains of Palestinians who died in Israeli custody.
