Hamas says committed to Gaza truce and returning hostage remains

“ACTUALLY DIGGING”

Trump appeared to call for patience when it came to the bodies’ return, insisting Hamas was “actually digging” for hostages’ remains, but later expressed frustration with the group’s conduct since the fighting halted.

“If Hamas continues to kill people in Gaza, which was not the Deal, we will have no choice but to go in and kill them,” Trump said on Truth Social in an apparent reference to recent shootings of Palestinian civilians.

Since the partial withdrawal of Israeli forces in Gaza under the ceasefire deal, Hamas has been tightening its grip on ruined cities, launching a crackdown and executing alleged collaborators in the street.

Clashes have also taken place between the group’s various security units and armed Palestinian clans, some of which are alleged to have Israeli backing.

The ceasefire deal has so far seen the war grind to a halt after two years of agony for the hostages’ families, and constant bombardment and hunger for Gazans.

According to Trump’s 20-point plan for Gaza, the next phases of the truce should include the disarmament of Hamas, the offer of amnesty to Hamas leaders who decommission their weapons and establishing the governance of post-war Gaza.

The plan also calls for renewed aid provision, with international organisations awaiting the reopening of southern Gaza’s Rafah crossing.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on the sidelines of a summit in Naples that preparations were being made for the strategic crossing, and that he “hoped” it would reopen on Sunday, Italian news agencies reported.

Israel, however, said earlier that the crossing would only be open to people, not aid, and Saar did not appear to elaborate.

The war has created a humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, with the UN declaring famine in August.

The World Health Organization has warned that infectious diseases are “spiralling out of control”, with only 13 of the territory’s 36 hospitals even partially functioning.

“Whether meningitis … diarrhoea, respiratory illnesses, we’re talking about a mammoth amount of work,” Hanan Balkhy, regional director for the UN health body, told AFP in Cairo.