KHAN YOUNIS: Israel returned the bodies of 15 Palestinians to Gaza on Friday, officials at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis said, in the latest step to fulfilling the terms of the fragile US-brokered ceasefire agreement.
The bodies were returned after militants late Thursday handed over the body of one of the last four remaining Israeli hostages taken during the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that launched the war in Gaza.
Israel identified the returned body as that of Meny Godard, who was abducted from Kibbutz Be’eri in southern Israel. His wife, Ayelet, was killed during the attack.
The armed wings of Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad said Godard’s body was recovered in southern Gaza.
The remains of 25 hostages have been returned to Israel since the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas began on Oct. 10. There are still three more in Gaza that need to be recovered and handed over. Hamas returned 20 living hostages to Israel on Oct. 13.
For each hostage returned, Israel has released the remains of 15 Palestinians, an exchange central to the ceasefire’s first phase. Overall, the number of bodies of Palestinians received so far is 330, of which only 95 have been formally identified, according to Gaza Health Ministry officials.
Health officials in Gaza have said identifying the remains handed over by Israel is complicated by a lack of DNA testing kits.
The exchanges have gone ahead even as Israel and Hamas have accused each other of violating other terms of the deal. Israel has accused Hamas of handing over partial remains in some instances and staging the discovery of bodies in others, while Hamas has accused Israel of opening fire at civilians and restricting the flow of humanitarian aid into the territory.
UN human rights chief says settler violence must end
The UN’s human rights chief, Volker Türk, on Friday joined a chorus of condemnation over a recent string of attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank, urging an end to the violence and for Israel to hold the perpetrators accountable.
UN Human Rights Commissioner spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan said Türk also called on Israel to end its “unlawful presence in the occupied Palestinian territory,” immediately stop all new settlement activities and evacuate all settlers.
Al-Kheetan said more than 206 attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians were recorded in October, more than in any month since 2006.
“We reiterate that the Israeli government’s assertion of sovereignty over the occupied West Bank and its annexation of parts of it are in breach of international law, as the International Court of Justice has confirmed,” said Al-Kheetan.
Israeli settlers on Thursday torched and defaced a mosque in a Palestinian village in the central West Bank. That followed violence two days earlier during which dozens of masked Israeli settlers set fire to vehicles and other property in the Palestinian villages of Beit Lid and Deir Sharaf.
The attacks on the two Palestinian villages prompted Israeli President Isaac Herzog to denounce them as “shocking and serious.” Israeli army’s chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, said the military “will not tolerate the phenomena of a minority of criminals who tarnish a law-abiding public.”
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday that there’s concern that the events in the West Bank “could undermine what we’re doing in Gaza.”
Israeli officials have sought to cast settler violence as the work of a few extremists. But Palestinians and rights groups say that the violence is widespread and carried out by settlers across the territory, with impunity from Israel’s far-right government, led by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who hasn’t commented on the surge in violence.
Meanwhile, the Palestinian Health Ministry in the West Bank said six teenagers — aged 15 to 17 — were shot and killed by Israeli fire in four separate incidents over the last two weeks. In the most recent incident Thursday, two 15 year-old boys where killed near the village of Beit Ummar.
The Israeli military said in three of the four incidents, its soldiers were responding to “terrorists” hurling either Molotov cocktails or explosives, or were in the process of carrying out a “terror attack.” In one incident, the military said troops acting according to “standard operating procedures” opened fire against Palestinians throwing rocks to “remove the threat.”
What’s next for Gaza
The next parts of the 20-point plan call for creating an international stabilization force, forming a technocratic Palestinian government and disarming Hamas.
The fragile agreement aims to wind down the war that was triggered by the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel that killed about 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage.
Israel responded with a sweeping military offensive that has killed more than 69,100 Palestinians in Gaza, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The ministry, part of the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals, maintains detailed records viewed as generally reliable by independent experts.
Bodies of 15 Palestinians returned by Israel, health officials in Gaza say
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Bodies of 15 Palestinians returned by Israel, health officials in Gaza say
- The bodies were returned after militants late Thursday handed over the body of one of the last four remaining Israeli hostages
- Health officials in Gaza have said identifying the remains handed over by Israel is complicated by a lack of DNA testing kits
How one displaced family in Gaza is observing Ramadan’s first day under a fragile ceasefire deal
KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip: Waleed al Zamli longingly recalled the joys and traditions of the first day of Ramadan before the Israel-Hamas war had drastically altered his life: Lanterns for the children. Sweets. Special dishes.
“Before the war, we would greet it with happiness,” the father of 11 said, speaking from Muwasi, an area crowded with tents sheltering Palestinians who were forced by the Israeli military offensive to flee their homes.
Not anymore, he said.
It saddens and pains him that he’s unable to provide for his family, which now ekes out an existence in displacement. Al Zamli lost his job after the shop where he had worked was destroyed, he said.
So, for the first Ramadan “iftar,” the fast-breaking meal, his wife picked up meals Wednesday from a charity kitchen that the family has heavily depended on. She made soup to go with it.
“This year, there’s no happiness,” al Zamli said.
Hardships and losses dampen Ramadan’s spirit for many
Ramadan arrived in Gaza under a fragile ceasefire deal, but many Palestinians there say the month’s typically festive spirit is eluding them as they grapple with the hardships of their daily lives and the grief and losses of the war.
Some of these difficulties were on display at the charity kitchen where dozens crowded, many with their arms outstretched as they vied for a spot and held empty pots. They included children, women and elderly people.
During Ramadan, observant Muslims fast daily from dawn to sunset. It’s a time for increased worship, religious reflection and charity. In normal circumstances, the month often brings families and friends together to break their fast in joyous gatherings.
But circumstances in Gaza are far from normal. Israel’s military offensive has killed more than 72,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, and caused widespread destruction and displaced most of the territory’s residents. Israel launched the offensive after Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took another 251 hostage in their attack on Oct. 7, 2023.
For al Zamli, the biggest challenge this Ramadan is providing food for his family. He said he’s received limited aid. Foods, like meat and poultry, are more expensive than their prewar prices, he said, and with no income many items are beyond his reach.
“The children want to feel happy like other people’s children, to get dressed and to eat something clean and special,” he said.
The financial strain can be especially amplified during Ramadan, he said. Typically, many shoppers throng to markets to stock up on food staples and buy decor and other supplies. Food can play a central role as the daily fasting gives way to nourishing, and for some elaborate, iftar meals. Muslims also eat a predawn meal known as “suhoor” to nurture their bodies ahead of the fast.
As Gaza residents visited markets this week, some lamented how economic woes cast a pall on the month.
Ramadan decorations among the ruins
Still, amid the struggles, some in the Gaza Strip have worked to bring a taste of the month’s festivities — for example, hanging strands of Ramadan decorations among the ruins. At their displacement camp, al Zamli’s children played with empty soda cans fashioned to look like Ramadan lanterns.
The Oct. 10 US-brokered ceasefire deal attempted to halt more than two years of war between Israel and Hamas. While the heaviest fighting has subsided, the ceasefire has seen almost daily Israeli fire.
Israeli forces have carried out repeated airstrikes and frequently fire on Palestinians near military-held zones, killing more than 600 Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials. The ministry, which is part of the Hamas-led government, maintains detailed casualty records that are seen as generally reliable by UN agencies and independent experts. But it does not distinguish between civilians and militants.
Militants have carried out shooting attacks on Israeli troops, and Israel says its strikes are in response to that and other violations. Four Israeli soldiers have been killed.
Despite some much-needed respite under the shaky ceasefire deal, many daily struggles, big and small, persisted.
Al Zamli said the war has deprived him and his family of many things. A son-in-law, he said, was killed, shortly after he married his now-widowed daughter.
This Ramadan, he will pray “for the bloodshed to end … and to feel security, safety, and tranquility” and “to be able to provide good food and clothes for our children.”
