KEY POINTS
- Israeli forces launched sporadic attacks across Gaza, killing several people despite ceasefire.
- Gaza’s Health Ministry reported five deaths in 24 hours, bringing the total death toll to 68,858.
- The Red Cross transferred three hostage bodies to Israel, which later said the remains did not belong to any missing captives.
- Residents in Jabalia, Khan Younis and Gaza City reported ongoing Israeli attacks and demolitions.
- Hamas said it was ready to recover the remains of Israeli captives but needed heavy equipment and international support.
- Aid agencies accused Israel of blocking relief supplies.
- Foreign ministers from Muslim countries will meet in Istanbul to press for stricter implementation of the ceasefire.
GAZA CITY, Palestine: Israeli forces launched sporadic ground and air attacks across the Gaza Strip for a fifth consecutive day on Saturday, killing several people and violating a fragile US-brokered ceasefire as humanitarian aid deliveries remained severely constrained, officials and aid groups said.
Gaza’s Health Ministry said five people were killed and 17 bodies were recovered in the past 24 hours. Palestinian death toll from the two-year Israeli bombardment campaign continued to increase and many victims still lay under rubble as emergency teams struggled to reach them.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said it transferred the unidentified bodies of three people to Israel after they were handed over by Hamas, while Israeli military said forensic analysis showed the remains did not belong to any of the captives still listed as missing.
The exchange and subsequent dispute represent another strain on the truce, which came into effect on October 11.
Attacks and demolitions continue despite truce
Residents and witnesses reported repeated gunfire and shelling in northern and southern Gaza. “I heard gunfire several times from the occupation forces during the night,” said Hisham al-Bardai, 37, a father of five who recently returned to his home in Jabalia camp in north Gaza.
“The truce has begun but the war hasn’t ended and the policy of starvation continues,” he said, referring to Israel’s blockade of the enclave.
Witnesses and local media said Israeli fighter jets, artillery and tanks shelled areas around Khan Younis, Gaza’s second-largest city, and that demolition of residential buildings continued in Bureij refugee camp and parts of Gaza City. Quadcopters were also reported to have dropped grenades in some areas, residents said.
The Israeli military said it had allowed ICRC teams, accompanied by Egyptian engineering equipment, to enter areas beyond the so-called “yellow line” in Bani Suheila, east of Khan Younis, to search for the bodies of Israeli captives believed buried beneath rubble.
Hamas said it was ready to retrieve the remains of Israeli captives but warned that large quantities were still buried under flattened neighbourhoods, and called on mediators and the ICRC for heavy machinery and specialist teams.
Rising civilian toll and humanitarian obstacles
Gaza’s Health Ministry reported that five people were killed and 17 bodies recovered in the past 24 hours.
The ministry said the overall death toll from the two-year Israeli bombardment campaign had reached 68,858 with 170,664 wounded.
“A number of victims remain under the rubble and in the streets as ambulance and civil defence teams have been unable to reach them so far,” the ministry said.
Aid agencies accuse Israel of obstructing the flow of humanitarian assistance into the Palestinian territory.
Under the ceasefire agreement, Israel pledged to allow 600 trucks carrying humanitarian supplies per day, yet aid organisations say the daily average remains far lower.
Bushra Khalidi of Oxfam told the Financial Times that a new Israeli registration system for international NGOs had left about $50 million of aid stranded outside Gaza and was “about control — and by design it’s pushing out both international and Palestinian-led organisations.”
Hostage bodies handed over, identities disputed
Hamas’s armed wing, the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades, said it had handed over bodies that it had not identified after Israel refused its offer to provide samples for testing and insisted on receiving the bodies for examination.
The ICRC confirmed the transfer of three unidentified bodies to Israel. Israeli media outlets and military sources said subsequent forensic work indicated those remains did not match any of the captives still missing.
The exchange has fuelled mistrust on both sides and threatened the implementation of further phases of the ceasefire, which hinge on the return of all hostages — living and dead — as part of the US-mediated agreement.
Diplomatic moves and calls for UN mandate
Foreign ministers from a number of Muslim and Arab countries are due to meet in Istanbul on Monday to assess the ceasefire and press for its full implementation, Turkish officials said.
The meeting is expected to include representatives from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Pakistan and Indonesia.
Analysts said the gathering will seek stronger enforcement of the initial phase of the truce and push for measures to get aid flowing at scale.
“You cannot have a situation where really it’s a de-escalation — perhaps from the height of the genocide — rather than a proper ceasefire,” Chris Doyle of the Council for Arab-British Understanding told Al Jazeera.
Jordan and Germany have said any international stabilisation force envisaged under a longer-term plan should operate under a United Nations Security Council mandate.
Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi told a conference in Bahrain that a UN mandate would provide the legal basis necessary for effectiveness; Germany’s Johann Wadephul voiced similar concerns.
Unexploded ordnance deepen misery
The Gaza Strip’s ruined cities remain littered with unexploded munitions and vast swathes of flattened neighbourhoods, impeding recovery and rescue efforts.
Residents say they lack access to skilled teams and equipment needed to remove large unexploded bombs and clear heavy debris, creating ongoing risks for civilians and hampering searches for bodies.
Human rights groups and US-based organisations have stepped up criticism of Israeli conduct.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) echoed findings in a US government human rights report that it said highlighted numerous violations by the Israeli military.
The CAIR report called for the application of US legal restrictions on assistance to militaries accused of abuses.
