Israel Hands Over Bodies Of 15 Palestinians

ILLUSTRATION/Condition of Gaza refugees/WFP/Maxime Le Lijour

JAKARTA - Israel handed over the bodies of 15 Palestinians on Wednesday, a day after Hamas returned the body of an Israeli hostage.

This is the latest exchange as part of a US-brokered ceasefire reached last month, whose first phase began to subside despite violence continuing in the Palestinian territories.

The bodies of two hostages, one Israeli citizen and one Thai national who were kidnapped in an attack led by Hamas against Israel on October 7, 2023, which sparked war, still have to be returned.

As reported by the Associated Press, Thursday, November 27, Hamas said it was committed to handing them over even though the recovery was hampered by widespread damage to Gaza.

While Israel accused the militants of buying time after the last surviving hostages were released on October 13 in the most pressing ceasefire phase.

Turkish, Qatar, and Egyptian mediators met in Cairo on Tuesday to discuss the second phase of the ceasefire.

Which is expected to include deploying an armed International Stabilization Forces, tasked with ensuring the removal of Hamas weapons, Israel's main demands, and developing international agencies to rule Gaza and oversee rebuilding.

However, major questions hang across almost every part of the plans and timeframe for the implementation of this fragile ceasefire, despite allegations of abuse by both sides.

Separately, the Israeli military said on Wednesday it carried out airstrikes and "wide counterterrorism operations" in the northern part of the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

The military operation follows the deaths of "three terrorists involved in a terror attack on IDF soldiers and Israeli civilians."