The ceasefire in Gaza is holding after a week, but there are still many unresolved issues that could bring it to a sudden end. In addition to the much-publicized matter of how many deceased hostages Hamas has been able to disinter and transfer to Israel, which remains a bone of contention, three matters have come to the forefront: the matter of the disarmament of Hamas, the flow of humanitarian relief supplies into Gaza, and now the developing scandal over the treatment of Palestinians in Israeli custody, the bodies of 120 of whom were turned over to Palestinian authorities this past week.
• Hamas is intent on maintaining security control in Gaza at least for an interim period, a senior Hamas politburo member Mohammed Nazzal told Reuters in an interview on Oct. 15. Asked about the group disarming, he said: “I can’t answer with a yes or no. Frankly, it depends on the nature of the project. The disarmament project you’re talking about, what does it mean? To whom will the weapons be handed over?” Nazzal also said the group was ready for a ceasefire of up to five years to rebuild devastated Gaza, with guarantees for what happens afterwards, depending on Palestinians being given “horizons and hope” for statehood.
• Humanitarian aid groups are charging that Israel is not letting in relief supplies in the quantities promised in Trump’s 20-point peace plan, reported Middle East Eye. While 480 trucks reached the besieged enclave on Oct. 15, the Government Media Office in Gaza described the aid entering as a “drop in the ocean of needs,” insufficient for more than 2.4 million people. “The strip requires 600 aid trucks [daily], which must flow continuously and in large quantities, including aid trucks, fuel, cooking gas, relief supplies and medical supplies, urgently, regularly and without interruption,” it added.
• And while Israel is accusing Hamas of not meeting its obligations by failing to return all of the bodies of deceased hostages, human rights groups and medical experts are charging that the conditions of bodies of Palestinians returned by the Israelis to Gaza show evidence of brutal torture. The Government Media Office in Gaza said that official examinations showed that most of the Palestinian bodies retrieved indicated systematic torture, field executions and crushings.
Muneer Alboursh, director general of the Ministry of Health in Gaza, described the bodies in a post on X as being “’bound like animals, blindfolded and bore horrific signs of torture and burns that reveal the extent of the crimes committed in secret.’
“’They did not die naturally; they were executed after being restrained. These people were not buried underground, they were kept in the occupation’s refrigerators for long months,’ he added.”
Ismail Al-Thawabta, director general of the Government Media Office in Gaza, also mentioned suspicions of organ theft by Israel. “’When we examined the bodies, we found that large parts were missing. There were half-bodies, bodies without heads, without limbs, without eyes, and without internal organs,’ he told Al Jazeera, adding that there was a high possibility that Israel stole these organs.”
