Photo: ua.news
Israel and Hamas are once again accusing each other of violating the fragile ceasefire, jeopardizing the U.S.-backed plan to end hostilities in Gaza, Reuters reports.
Israeli position:
Israel says it plans to reopen the Rafah crossing on the Egyptian border but has not set a date, blaming Hamas for breaking the agreement.
According to Israeli officials, Hamas failed to fulfill its promise to return all bodies of deceased hostages — handing over only 10 out of 28, one of which allegedly did not belong to a captive.
Israel also insists it only opened fire in response to direct threats, denying Hamas’s allegations of unprovoked attacks.
Hamas’s response:
Hamas claims it returned all the bodies it was able to recover, saying that without heavy machinery it is impossible to retrieve the remaining ones from Gaza’s rubble.
The group also accused Israel of violating the ceasefire, reporting 24 Palestinian deaths over the past week.
Coordination with Egypt continues over the Rafah crossing, though it will not be used for humanitarian shipments. Disputes over the hostages’ remains and unresolved issues have once again put the truce plan at risk.
U.S. President Donald Trump warned that if Hamas fails to comply with the peace deal, he may authorize Israel’s Prime Minister to redeploy troops into the territory.
On October 13, Hamas handed over a second group of 13 Israeli hostages to the Red Cross.
