ISRAEL DEMANDS RETURN OF LAST HOSTAGE
Israel and Hamas have repeatedly accused each other of truce violations.
Israeli airstrikes and shootings in Gaza have killed at least 386 Palestinians since the ceasefire took hold, according to Palestinian health officials.
Israel has said recent strikes are in retaliation for militant attacks on its soldiers, and that troops have fired on Palestinians who approached the “Yellow Line” between the Israeli-controlled majority of Gaza and the rest of the territory.
Israel has demanded that Palestinian militants return the remains of the final hostage, Ran Gvili, from Gaza and called it a condition of moving to the second and more complicated phase of the ceasefire, which lays out a vision for ending Hamas’ rule and seeing the rebuilding of a demilitarised Gaza under international supervision.
The initial Hamas-led 2023 attack on southern Israel killed around 1,200 people and took 251 hostages. Almost all hostages or their remains have been returned in ceasefires or other deals.
Israel’s two-year campaign in Gaza has killed more than 70,000 Palestinians – roughly half of them women and children – according to the territory’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between militants and civilians in its count.
The ministry, which operates under the Hamas-run government, is staffed by medical professionals and maintains detailed records seen as generally reliable by the international community.
Much of Gaza has been destroyed, and most of the population of over 2 million people has been displaced. Humanitarian aid entry into the territory continues to be below the level set by the ceasefire terms.
