The Israeli military said on Wednesday that one of the bodies handed over by Hamas the previous day as part of the ceasefire deal is not that of one of the hostages who was held in Gaza.
Four bodies were handed over by Hamas on Tuesday to ease pressure on the fragile ceasefire, following the first four on Monday, when the last 20 living hostages were released.
The military said that “following the completion of examinations at the National Institute of Forensic Medicine, the fourth body handed over to Israel by Hamas does not match any of the hostages”.
Palestinian centre says some returned bodies were partial remains
The Palestinian Centre for the Missing and Forcibly Disappeared Persons urged Israel on Tuesday to provide all available information on bodies returned to Gaza, including “names of the victims and details about the circumstances of their deaths”.
The centre said it received information that some of the bodies transferred on Tuesday were only partial remains, raising concerns about the circumstances of their death and detention, the Associated Press reports.
It called for Israel to immediately release all bodies in its custody and provide information about the fate of forcibly disappeared Palestinians since the start of the war in Gaza two years ago. The centre said between 8,000 and 9,000 Palestinians have been missing or forcibly disappeared since the start of the war.
Aid trucks resume entry after dispute over body returns
Aid trucks rolled into Gaza on Wednesday and Israel resumed preparations to open the main Rafah crossing after a dispute over the return of the bodies of dead hostages that had threatened to derail the fragile ceasefire deal with Hamas, Reuters reports.
Israel had threatened to keep Rafah shut and reduce aid supplies because Hamas was returning bodies too slowly, showing the risks to a truce that has stopped two years of devastating warfare in Gaza and freed all living hostages held by Hamas.
However, the militant group returned more Israeli bodies overnight, and an Israeli security official said on Wednesday preparations were under way to open Rafah to citizens of Gaza, whilst a second official said that 600 aid trucks would go in.
The Egyptian Red Crescent said 400 trucks carrying food, fuel and medical supplies were bound for the Gaza Strip on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, the Israeli defence body overseeing humanitarian aid in Gaza, Cogat, notified humanitarian organisations that it would allow into Gaza only half the 600 daily aid trucks called for under the deal. It was not immediately clear whether it was following through on the threat. Cogat declined to comment on the number of trucks expected to enter Gaza on Wednesday, the Associated Press reports.
Gaza death toll reaches 67,938 since October 2023
The health ministry said the bodies of 19 people have been brought to hospitals in Gaza over the past 24 hours. They include 16 bodies recovered from under the rubble, the ministry said in its daily report, according to the Associated Press. Hospitals also received 35 injured.
The death toll from Israel’s war in Gaza now stands at 67,938 since 7 October 2023, the ministry said. Another 169,638 have been injured, it added.
The ministry said it did not add the 45 bodies that Israel transferred to Gaza on Tuesday to its tally.
Palestinian Authority representatives are touring Europe to try to convince countries that have not yet recognised a Palestinian state to get onboard, a presidential envoy said during a visit to Switzerland on Wednesday.
Former Palestinian prime minister Mohammad Shtayyeh, now serving as special envoy for president Mahmoud Abbas, told reporters that he had met Switzerland’s top diplomat to push Berne to join “the countries who recognise Palestine”, Reuters reports. He said he would be travelling on to the Netherlands and Austria with the same message.
“Another delegation will be going to the Baltic states, [and] our president hopefully will visit Italy and Germany,” he told the briefing, organised by the UN correspondents association ACANU.
A majority of European nations now recognise a Palestinian state, following official declarations last month by the UK, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Portugal and others against the backdrop of the war in Gaza.
A number of non-European states like Australia and Canada have also recently joined their ranks, in moves criticised by Israel.
The European Union said on Wednesday it is on standby to deploy a longstanding humanitarian mission, known as the EU border assistance mission (EUBam), at the Rafah border crossing in Gaza if conditions on the ground improve.
Anouar El Anouni, a spokesperson for the European Commission, said the EUBam remains on standby to deploy to the Rafah crossing point “as soon as conditions allow”. He did not elaborate on those conditions. “We remain on standby and we stand ready to deploy at short notice,” El Anouni added.
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