Gaza ceasefire holds as bodies of hostages add to uncertainty
Israel said Illouz died of his wounds while held captive without proper medical treatment, while Joshi was murdered in captivity during the first months of the war – adding that the National Center for Forensic Medicine would later provide the final cause of death.
The freed Israeli hostages received medical treatment Tuesday, and some families said it would be weeks before the men could return home. In the West Bank and Gaza, where hundreds of prisoners have been released, several have also been hospitalized.
Separately, the Israeli military said its troops in the northern Gaza Strip had “opened fire to eliminate the threat” of several people approaching them Tuesday across the “yellow line” and failing to comply with orders to stop. He had no immediate comment on the victims of the incident.
Part of the ceasefire agreement calls for Israel to withdraw in Gaza to the so-called Yellow Line where its forces were located in August, before launching its final offensive on Gaza City in the north of the Strip.
Longer-term issues are also at stake, including whether Hamas will disarm, who will govern and help rebuild Gaza, and the overarching question of Palestinian statehood, which is central to Palestinians and many countries in the region.
“The first steps toward peace are always the hardest,” Trump said Monday as he stood alongside foreign leaders in Egypt for a summit on the future of Gaza. He hailed the ceasefire deal he brokered between Israel and Hamas as the end of the war in Gaza – and the start of rebuilding the devastated territory.
On Tuesday, the United Nations development agency said the latest joint estimate from the UN, European Union and World Bank is that $70 billion will be needed to rebuild Gaza. Jaco Cillers, special representative of the UNDP administrator for an aid program for the Palestinians, said $20 billion would be needed over the next three years and the rest would be needed over a longer period, even decades.
In Egypt, Trump urged regional leaders to “put aside old feuds” as world leaders gathered to discuss the challenges ahead to ensure lasting peace. Representatives of Israel or Hamas were not present at the summit.
