TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) – A tenuous truce in the two-year Israel-Hamas war held up Tuesday despite remaining complications. spreading joy Regarding returning to Israel the last 20 living hostages Hundreds of Palestinian prisoners of war and detainees were released in exchange for their detention in Gaza.
The list of more pressing questions includes questions about when it will take place. Hamas to return bodies of 24 hostages to Israel The health status of those believed to have died in Gaza, freed hostages and freed Palestinians.
Only four of the dead hostages were handed over to Israeli authorities on Monday, but their release was part of the first phase of a cease-fire deal brokered by US President Donald Trump. On Tuesday, the Israeli military identified two of them. Guy Illouz from Israel, Beautiful girlsAn international student from Nepal.
They were both in their 20s when they were taken by Hamas-led militants in the October 7, 2023, attack that sparked the war. Mr. Illouz was a participant at the Nova Music Festival, and Mr. Joshi came from an air raid shelter.
Israel said Illuz died from injuries sustained as a prisoner of war without proper treatment, and that Joshi was killed in captivity during the first months of the war, adding that the National Center for Forensic Medicine would later reveal the final cause of death.
The freed Israeli hostages were receiving medical treatment on Tuesday, and some family members said it would be weeks before the men could return home. In the West Bank and Gaza, Where hundreds of prisoners were freedseveral people were also taken to the hospital.
Separately, the Israeli military said its forces in the northern Gaza Strip approached across the “yellow line” on Tuesday and “opened fire to eliminate the threat” of several people who did not comply with orders to stop. There was no immediate comment on casualties from the incident.
Part of the ceasefire agreement includes Israel withdrawing to the so-called Yellow Line, where its forces were in the Gaza Strip in August, before launching its latest offensive on Gaza City in the northern Gaza Strip.
Longer-term questions are also at stake, including whether Hamas will disarm, who will govern Gaza and help rebuild it, and, most importantly, the governance of a Palestinian state that is central to the Palestinian people and many countries in the region.
“The first step toward peace is always the most difficult,” President Trump said Monday as he met with foreign leaders in Egypt. Summit on the future of Gaza. He hailed the ceasefire agreement brokered between Israel and Hamas as an end to the war in Gaza and the beginning of rebuilding. devastated territory.
On Tuesday, the United Nations development agency announced that the latest joint estimates by the United Nations, European Union and World Bank show that $70 billion is needed to rebuild Gaza. Jaco Shiraz, UNDP Administrator’s Special Representative for Palestinian Assistance Programs, said $20 billion would be needed over the next three years and the rest would be needed over the long term, perhaps decades.
In Egypt, President Trump calls on regional leaders to ‘put aside old feuds’ World leaders met to discuss the challenges ahead in ensuring lasting peace. Representatives from Israel and Hamas did not attend the summit.
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Mr. Dell’Orto reported from Jerusalem. Associated Press writer Jamie Keene in Geneva contributed to this report.
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