GAZA CITY: The armed wing of Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad said it had found the body of one of the last three hostages held in Gaza on Monday.
“Today we found the body of one of the enemy prisoners during search operations in areas controlled by the Zionist (Israeli) army in the central Gaza Strip,” the Al-Quds Brigades said in a statement.
A source in Islamic Jihad, who requested anonymity, confirmed the body belonged to one of the last three hostages held by militants in the territory.
At the start of the US-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, which came into effect on October 10, militants were holding 20 living hostages and 28 bodies of deceased captives.
Hamas has since released all the living hostages and returned the remains of 25 dead hostages, in line with the ceasefire terms.
In exchange, Israel has released nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners in its custody and returned the bodies of hundreds of dead Palestinians.
Islamic Jihad says found body of one of last three Gaza hostages
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Islamic Jihad says found body of one of last three Gaza hostages
- A source in Islamic Jihad confirmed the body belonged to one of the last three hostages held by militants in the territory
Israel reopens West Bank-Jordan crossing for Gaza aid
- Israel closed the Allenby crossing to aid destined for the Gaza strip in September
- Palestinian official says 96 trucks carrying cement meterials were allowed to pass through on Tuesday
JERUSALEM: Israel reopened the only crossing on the border it controls between Jordan and the occupied West Bank on Wednesday to aid trucks for Gaza after nearly three months of closure, Israeli and Palestinian officials told AFP.
Israel closed the crossing after a Jordanian truck driver shot dead an Israeli soldier and a reserve officer at the border in September.
The crossing in the Jordan Valley reopened to travelers a few days later, but not to humanitarian aid destined for the Gaza Strip, which has been devastated by more than two years of war.
“The Allenby crossing was open today and trucks are going from the Allenby crossing to Gaza,” said a spokesperson for COGAT, the Israeli defense ministry body that oversees civilian affairs in the Palestinian Territories.
A Palestinian official speaking on condition of anonymity confirmed that the crossing had been opened.
On Tuesday 96 trucks carrying materials for the production of cement were allowed to pass through the crossing, the official said.
On Wednesday a further 20 trucks of humanitarian aid entered, and on Thursday sand was expected to be allowed in for the construction sector, the official added.
Since the crossing’s closure, Jordan said it had been able to send some aid to Gaza via the Sheikh Hussein crossing, located north of the occupied West Bank.
On Tuesday, an Israeli official said the transfer of goods and aid from Jordan through Allenby was about to resume after a government directive.
“All aid trucks destined for the Gaza Strip will proceed under escort and security, following a thorough security inspection,” the official said.
The Allenby crossing is the only international gateway for Palestinians from the West Bank that does not require entering Israel, which has occupied the territory since 1967.
