Aid trucks roll into starving Gaza

Israel pauses dispute over hostage bodies; preparing to open Rafah border crossing

JERUSALEM/CAIRO:

Aid trucks rolled into Gaza on Wednesday and Israel resumed preparations to open the main Rafah crossing after a dispute over the return of the bodies of dead hostages that had threatened to derail the fragile ceasefire deal with Hamas.

Israel had threatened to keep Rafah shut and reduce aid supplies because Hamas was returning bodies too slowly, showing the risks to a truce that has stopped two years of devastating warfare in Gaza and seen all living hostages held by Hamas freed.

However, the group returned more Israeli bodies overnight, and an Israeli official said on Wednesday preparations were under way to open Rafah to Gazan citizens, while a second official said that 600 aid trucks would go in.

Hamas returned four bodies confirmed as dead hostages on Monday and another four bodies late on Tuesday, though Israeli authorities said one of those bodies was not that of a hostage. The dispute over the return of bodies still has the potential to upset the ceasefire deal along with other major issues that are yet to be resolved.

Israel has said that the next phase of the truce calls for Hamas to disarm and cede power, which it has so far refused to do. It has launched a security crackdown, parading its power in Gaza through public executions and clashes with local clans.

Longer-term elements of the ceasefire plan, including how Gaza will be governed, the make-up of an international "stabilisation force" and moves towards the creation of a Palestinian state have yet to emerge.

Twenty-one bodies of hostages remain in Gaza, though some may be hard to find or recover because of destruction during the conflict. An international task force is meant to find them.

The deal also requires Israel to return the bodies of 360 Palestinians. The first group of 45 was handed over on Tuesday and the bodies were being identified, said Palestinian health authorities.

The war has caused a humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, with nearly all inhabitants driven from their homes, a global hunger monitor confirming famine and health authorities overwhelmed.