Hamas hands over two more hostages' bodies and says it has complied with the agreement

BarcelonaThe ceasefire agreement in Gaza remains in place five days after it came into effect, although the facts demonstrate its fragility. Residents of the Gaza Strip are still awaiting the massive influx of humanitarian aid, and the Israeli army has continued to carry out targeted attacks, which have left a dozen dead in the past two days, according to medical sources in the Palestinian enclave.

The Israeli government has only allowed a few trucks to enter through the Kerem Shalom crossing, which borders Israel, but still maintains the Rafah crossing, on the border with Egypt, closed. Tel Aviv has restricted the entry of humanitarian convoys in retaliation for Hamas delaying the delivery of the remains of the deceased hostages. According to the agreement, some 600 trucks should enter daily, although Tel Aviv says it will only allow 300 for now. And although some have begun to arrive, the situation is far from being described as a massive influx of humanitarian aid.

According to Israeli public broadcaster Khan, Israel is preparing to open the Rafah crossing, likely this Thursday. As announced, Hamas has handed over two coffins containing the bodies of two more Israeli hostages to the Red Cross, which has confirmed it has received them. These are in addition to the four hostage bodies Hamas handed over on Monday, whose identity was confirmed, and another four Tuesday night, although Israel said one of the bodies does not correspond to an Israeli captive. The Islamist group claims it is the body of an Israeli soldier they captured in May 2024. For its part, Hamas has asserted that it "is complying with what was agreed upon" and has already handed over all the bodies it had located and that recovering the remaining bodies will take time.

The remains of 21 hostages are still in the Gaza Strip, and Hamas already warned before signing the agreement that it would be difficult to find all of them quickly due to the widespread destruction caused by bombing during two years of war. The agreement also stipulates that Israel must return the bodies of 360 dead Palestinians. The first group of 45 was handed over in Gaza on Tuesday, and another 45 were handed over this Wednesday.

Army threats

On the other hand, the death toll from Israeli attacks continues to rise despite the truce. This Wednesday, Israel killed two people in Gaza City with a drone strike, according to a hospital in the capital after receiving both bodies. The attack took place in the Shujayea neighborhood of the Strip's capital, which the Israeli army has designated as a "militarized zone" and where the presence of Palestinians is prohibited. Efe reported that journalists from the Spanish agency verified this morning that for more than 30 minutes, Israeli tanks and drones opened fire on the areas marked as militarized zones in this neighborhood, where Palestinians no longer live, although they do exist in other areas of the neighborhood.

Despite the ceasefire going into effect last Friday, at least eight people were killed in the Strip yesterday by Israeli attacks. According to the Gaza Health Ministry, they were trying to reach their homes to check on their condition, but Israel justifies its response by saying they violated the so-called "yellow line," the areas where its troops have withdrawn and where Palestinians are not allowed to approach.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has warned that the army "will respond immediately" to any attempt to cross this "yellow line." Katz wrote to X that Israeli forces act "according to instructions" and apply "a clear policy of deployment along the yellow line, which includes more than 50 percent of the territory of Gaza." "The policy of implementation is unequivocal: for every violation, an immediate response," he says. And he calls the fatalities of the last few hours terrorists: "Yesterday, attempts by terrorists trying to approach and cross were thwarted, and this will continue to be the case in the future."