Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that the war in Gaza will not end until Hamas is disarmed and the Gaza Strip is demilitarised. This comes as Hamas’s armed wing, the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, handed over more bodies of hostages on Saturday.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the war in Gaza would only end once Hamas is completely disarmed and the Gaza Strip is demilitarised. This statement comes as the militant group Hamas handed over the remains of two more hostages late in the evening. Hamasโs armed wing, the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, stated that these bodies were recovered earlier on Saturday. The Israeli military said a Red Cross team was on its way to receive the remains, just before 11:00 PM.
Netanyahu said that the second phase of the ceasefire known as “Phase B” involves disarming Hamas.ย “When that is successfully completed, the war will end,” Netanyahu said, speaking on Channel 14.
Ceasefire and hostage returnย
Under the ceasefire deal brokered by US President Donald Trump, Hamas has so far released all 20 living hostages, along with the remains of nine Israelis and one Nepalese.ย However, Israel has also released nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and 135 other bodies of Palestinians.
Hamas claims it needs time and technical help to recover the remaining bodies, which are buried under rubble in Gaza. Netanyahu linked the reopening of the Rafah crossing, which connects Gaza to Egypt, to Hamasโs commitment to returning all hostages’ remains. As of Saturday, the crossing remains closed.
The Palestinian mission in Cairo announced that the Rafah crossing could open as soon as Monday, but Netanyahuโs office confirmed that it would remain closed until Hamas fulfills its obligations under the ceasefire deal. The humanitarian situation in Gaza remains dire. UN relief chief Tom Fletcher, who visited northern Gaza on Saturday, described the devastation as โa vast part of the cityโฆ a wasteland.โ Despite the truce, the rebuilding process will take time.
Fletcher said that many residents are returning to their destroyed homes and are digging latrines in the ruins.ย “They want dignity,” he said. The UN has a 60-day plan to send one million meals per day, rebuild the health sector, and provide tents for the winter. Over 900 trucks of aid and supplies crossed into Gaza from Israel on Thursday.
Continued violence amid truceย
Despite the ceasefire, violence continues in Gaza. On Saturday, Gaza’s civil defense agency reported that Israeli troops fired two tank shells at a bus, killing nine Palestinians from the Shaaban family.ย The attack occurred near the so-called โyellow line,โ a boundary established under the ceasefire. Israeli military forces claimed the vehicle approached them in a threatening manner, prompting them to open fire. At Gaza Cityโs Al-Ahli Hospital, relatives of the victims mourned. “What did they do wrong?” asked Umm Mohammed Shaaban, the grandmother of the children and adults killed in the attack.
USโs warning to Hamasย
The US Department of State issued a warning on Saturday, indicating โcredible reportsโ of a potential ceasefire violation by Hamas.ย The State Department claimed that Hamas was planning an attack on Palestinian civilians, which would breach the ceasefire agreement.ย The US said it would take action to protect the people of Gaza and maintain the ceasefire if the attack went ahead.
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