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.
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 Gazan citizens, while a second official said that 600 aid trucks would go in.
Dispute over return of hostage bodies
Hamas returned four bodies confirmed as dead hostages on Monday and another four bodies late on Tuesday, though Israeli authorities said one of those bodies was not that of a hostage.
“Hamas … is required to uphold its commitments to the mediators and return all of our hostages as part of the implementation of this agreement,” a spokeswoman said in a news conference.
“We will not compromise on this, and we will spare no effort until our fallen hostages return, every last one of them.”
This is not the first time Hamas has returned a wrong body to Israel. Earlier this year, during a previous ceasefire, the group said it handed over the bodies of Shiri Bibas and her two sons.
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