Israel threatens to resume hostilities if Hamas does not adhere to Gaza agreement
Kyiv • UNN
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz threatens to resume hostilities if Hamas does not hand over all bodies of deceased hostages. Hamas states it cannot retrieve more bodies without special equipment, but American advisors claim Hamas intends to fulfill the agreement.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz on Wednesday threatened to resume hostilities if Hamas does not comply with the terms of a US-backed ceasefire agreement that ended the war in Gaza, AFP reports, writes UNN.
Details
Defense Minister Israel Katz's statement came after Hamas handed over the remains of two more dead hostages and said it would not be able to retrieve more bodies from the rubble of Gaza without special equipment.
Since Monday, under a ceasefire agreement brokered by US President Donald Trump, the Palestinian Islamist group has handed over 20 surviving hostages to Israel in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners released from Israeli jails.
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Before the transfer of the two bodies late Wednesday, Hamas had already returned the remains of seven of the 28 known dead hostages, as well as an eighth body that Israel said did not belong to a former hostage.
"If Hamas refuses to comply with the agreement, Israel, acting in coordination with the United States, will resume hostilities and act to completely defeat Hamas, change the situation in Gaza, and achieve all the goals of the war," Katz's office said in a statement.
Hamas's armed wing said the two returned bodies would be the last for now, far fewer than the plan's requirement to hand over all bodies.
"The resistance has fulfilled its obligations under the agreement by handing over all living Israeli prisoners who were in its custody, as well as the bodies it was able to access," the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades said in a statement on social media.
"As for the remaining bodies, their extraction and evacuation require significant effort and special equipment. We are making every effort to close this case," the statement said.
However, senior US advisers said Wednesday after Israel's threat to resume hostilities that Hamas still intends to fulfill its promise.
"We continue to hear from them about their intention to abide by the agreement. They want the agreement on this to be completed," one of the advisers told reporters on condition of anonymity.
Nevertheless, any delay in the return of the remaining bodies is likely to increase domestic pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to link humanitarian aid to the fate of these bodies, the publication notes.
Israel's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir threatened to halt the delivery of much-needed aid to Gaza if Hamas does not return the remains of soldiers still held in the Palestinian territory.
Meanwhile, Israel handed over another 45 bodies of Palestinians under its control to Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza, bringing the number of returned bodies to 90, the Hamas-controlled health ministry in the territory said.
Under Trump's plan, Israel is to return 15 dead Palestinians for each dead Israeli hostage.
Amid the signing of the agreement, UN humanitarian committee head Tom Fletcher called on Israel to immediately open all checkpoints into Gaza for the delivery of humanitarian aid.
"This must happen now. We want this to happen immediately within the framework of this agreement," Fletcher told AFP in Cairo on Wednesday before a planned trip to the Gaza border.
The Israeli public broadcaster KAN reported the reopening of the Rafah checkpoint on the border with Egypt, but this did not happen, and an Israeli official did not respond to AFP's request for comment.
Fletcher, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief, is expected to travel to the Rafah checkpoint on Thursday. It is the only border crossing that connects Gaza to the world without crossing the border with Israel.
"The main thing is to ensure that children have food, that hospitals have anesthetics for patients undergoing treatment, and that people have tents over their heads," Fletcher said.
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The war, which began with the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, has led to a humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, with the densely populated territory dependent on aid that has been severely restricted, if not completely cut off.
In late August, the United Nations declared a famine in Gaza, although Israel rejected the claim. The return of aid is outlined in Trump's 20-point plan for Gaza.
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Another political challenge is the disarmament of Hamas, a demand that the militants have refused to accept.
Hamas is tightening its grip on the devastated cities of Gaza, but Israel and the United States insist that the group cannot play any role in the future government of the territory.