DEIR AL-BALA, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel said Tuesday it has received human remains that Palestinian militants handed over to the Red Cross, but it was not immediately clear whether they were among three hostages remaining in the Gaza Strip. Gaza Strip.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said the remains would be transferred for forensic examination and identification.
The transfer is the latest in a fragile ceasefire struck last month that has held despite mutual accusations of violations.
Palestinian Islamic Jihad said it discovered the remains earlier this week in Nuseirat, a refugee camp in the center of the Gaza Strip.
Palestinian militants have returned 25 hostage bodies under a ceasefire that took effect on October 10. liberated the bodies of 330 Palestinians to Gaza. Most remain unidentified.
Under Israeli pressure to hurry, Hamas says it has been unable to reach all of the hostages' remains because they are buried under rubble. Israel's two-year offensive. Israel accused the militants of dragging their feet and threatened to resume military operations or suspend humanitarian aid unless all the remains were returned.
Netanyahu's office said the delay in returning the remains constituted a violation of the ceasefire. The remaining hostages were two Israelis and a man from Thailand.
Shortage of DNA kits in Gaza Strip
Palestinian officials struggled to identify the bodies returned by Israel without access to DNA kits. According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, part of the Hamas government, only 95 people have been identified.
Meanwhile, families in the Gaza Strip are facing the effects of a harsh winter. rains it highlights the dire humanitarian conditions for many of the 2 million people displaced by the war.
Aid has been slow to flow into Gaza, but organizations such as the U.N. Humanitarian Office warn that shortages of vital goods such as food and winter supplies remain and are calling on Israel to ease restrictions on aid.
The war began with a Hamas attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, which killed about 1,200 people and took more than 250 hostages. Almost all hostages or their remains were returned as a result of ceasefires or other agreements.
Gaza's health ministry says Israel's retaliatory offensive left 69,775 Palestinians dead and 170,863 wounded. He makes no distinction between civilians and combatants in his figures, but says women and children make up the majority of those killed. The ministry employs medical professionals and maintains detailed records that independent experts consider to be generally reliable.
Death toll rises in Gaza Strip
Although daily fighting in the Gaza Strip has ceased, the death toll continues to rise as Israel strikes parts of the area in response to what it says are ceasefire violations by Hamas.
The Gaza Strip's health ministry said Tuesday that Israeli forces killed three people east of Khan Yunis in the south. The ministry said the bodies were taken to hospitals along with 14 other people pulled from the rubble over the past 24 hours.
Palestinian officials said Monday that at least four people in Gaza were killed by Israeli fire. The death toll of Palestinians has reached 345 since the ceasefire took effect, according to the ministry.
Two men were killed when Israeli forces opened fire in the Tufa area of eastern Gaza City, according to Shifa Hospital. Two more were killed in the town of Beni Suayla, east of Khan Younis, Nasser Hospital officials said.
The Israeli military said it had killed “three terrorists” who it said crossed the so-called yellow line separating areas controlled by Hamas from areas held by Israeli forces. The military did not respond to the fourth death reported by Palestinian officials.
Planning for the Gaza Strip Stabilization Force
Planning for a UN-sanctioned international stabilization force was underway last week, with Washington's 20-point plan approved. security and governance plan for the Gaza Strip.
Indonesia said on Tuesday it was preparing troops. Officials said the final deployment would depend on an official order from Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, who said his country was ready to send 20,000 peacekeepers to the Gaza Strip at any time.
Gen. Agus Subianto, chief of Indonesia's armed forces, told reporters that the contingent would be a brigade made up of medical, engineering and mechanized support battalions, and that the military was preparing other support, including three naval hospital ships, a C-130 Hercules military transport aircraft and a helicopter.
The US plan also includes a transition authority overseen by President Donald Trump and represents a possible future path to an independent Palestinian state.
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Janetzky reported from Jerusalem and Magdi reported from Cairo. Niniek Karmini contributed to this report from Jakarta, Indonesia.
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For more information about AP's reporting on Israel and Hamas, visit the AP website. https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war
Wafaa Shurafa, Megan Janetsky and Sami Magdy, The Associated Press
