Israel, Hamas trade blame over truce violations

JERUSALEM, Oct 16 (AP/AFP): Israel said on Thursday it was preparing for the reopening of Gaza's Rafah crossing with Egypt to let Palestinians in and out, but set no date as it traded blame with Hamas over violations of the US-mediated ceasefire.

A row over the return of bodies of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza retains the potential to upend the truce along with other major planks of the plan yet to be resolved, including disarmament of militants and Gaza's future governance.

Israel demanded that Hamas fulfill its obligations in turning over the bodies of the 28 deceased hostages. The Islamist faction said it had handed over 10 bodies but Israel said one of them was not that of a hostage.

"We will not compromise on this, and we will spare no effort until our fallen hostages return, every last one of them," Israel's government spokesperson said on Wednesday.

The armed wing of Hamas said the handover of more bodies in Gaza, which was reduced to vast tracts of rubble by the war, would require the admission of heavy machinery and excavating equipment into the Israel-blockaded Palestinian enclave.

Hamas hands over all hostage

remains it can reach

Hamas said Wednesday it has handed back the remains of all the deceased hostages that it can reach, as the Israeli military said the Red Cross had received two more bodies in Gaza.

Since Monday, under a ceasefire agreement brokered by US President Donald Trump, Hamas has handed back 20 surviving hostages to Israel in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners freed from Israeli jails.

Before the two bodies were handed over late on Wednesday, Hamas had already returned the remains of seven of 28 known deceased hostages-along with an eighth body which Israel said was not that of a former hostage.

But late on Wednesday, the Palestinian Islamist movement's armed wing said it had transferred all the bodies it could find and would need specialist recovery equipment to retrieve the rest from Gaza's ruins.

Former hostage says captives

could have been freed 'long ago'

A former Israeli hostage said on Thursday that all Gaza captives could have returned home "a long time ago", as relatives of newly released hostages described the torment endured by their loved ones.

Arbel Yehud was held in captivity for nearly 500 days before being freed earlier this year under a previous Gaza truce.

She spoke on Thursday at a press conference alongside families of newly freed hostages, including her partner Ariel Cunio, released this week along with the remaining living captives.

"We could have brought them back a long time ago," Yehud said.

She said the deal that was brokered by US President Donald Trump could have been struck earlier, in turn saving the lives of more hostages.

"While we are here, fortunate to embrace our loved ones, there are dozens of families that never will," said Yehud.

During their attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, Hamas-led militants abducted 251 hostages to Gaza.

A vocal critic of the Israeli government, Yehud has participated in rallies calling for a ceasefire and the return of hostages.