Israel identified the body of a deceased hostage Sunday morning, after Hamas handed over two bodies of what the militant group said are deceased hostages to the Red Cross late Saturday night.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the body was identified as Ronen Engel. The second body is still undergoing identification at Israel’s National Institute of Forensic Medicine. Engel, 54, was killed during the Oct. 7 attack on Kibbutz Nir Oz on the Gaza border. His wife, Karina, and two of his three children were kidnapped and released in a ceasefire in November 2023.
The move comes as Israel threatened to keep the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt closed “until further notice.” The statement by Netanyahu’s office said reopening Rafah would depend on how Hamas fulfills its ceasefire role of returning the remains of all 28 deceased hostages.
Hamas has handed over the remains of 11 identified hostages. Israel has returned the bodies of 135 Palestinians to Gaza.
The handover of remains is among key points — along with aid deliveries into Gaza and the devastated territory’s future — in the ceasefire process meant to end two years of war.
Opening of Rafah crossing a key issue
The Rafah crossing is the only one that was not controlled by Israel before the war. It has been closed since May 2024, when Israel took control of the Gaza side. A fully reopened crossing would make it easier for Palestinians to seek medical treatment, travel or visit family in Egypt, home to tens of thousands of Palestinians.
On Sunday, the Palestinian Authority’s Interior Ministry in Ramallah announced procedures for Palestinians wishing to leave or enter Gaza through the Rafah crossing. For Palestinians who want to leave Gaza, Palestinian Embassy staff from Cairo will be at the crossing to issue temporary travel documents that allow entry into Egypt. Palestinians who wish to enter the Gaza Strip will need to apply at the embassy in Cairo for relevant entry documents.
Israel’s war in Gaza has killed more than 68,000 Palestinians, according to the Health Ministry, which is part of the Hamas-run government in the territory. Its figures are seen as a reliable estimate of wartime deaths by U.N. agencies and many independent experts. Israel has disputed them without providing its own toll.
Thousands more people are missing, according to the Red Cross.
Hamas-led militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted 251 people in the attack on southern Israel that sparked the war on Oct. 7, 2023.
Hamas says discussions begin about 2nd phase of ceasefire negotiations
Hamas said discussions are underway with mediators on arrangements for launching negotiations on the second phase of the Trump plan to end the war in Gaza.
Hazem Kassem, a spokesman for Hamas, said in a statement late Saturday that the second phase negotiations “require national consensus.”
He said Hamas has begun discussions to solidify their positions on the issues but didn’t provide further details.
According to Trump’s plan, the second phase of negotiations include disarming Hamas and the establishment of an international-backed authority to run the embattled Gaza Strip.
Kassem reiterated that the group won’t be part of the ruling authority in a post-war Gaza. Hamas-run government bodies in the Gaza Strip are running day-to-day affairs to avoid a power vacuum, he said.
“Government agencies in Gaza continue to perform their duties, as the vacuum is very dangerous, and this will continue until an administrative committee is formed and agreed upon by all Palestinian factions,” he said.
Kassem called for a prompt establishment of the Community Support Committee, a body of Palestinian technocrats, to run the day-to-day affairs.
US accuses Hamas of planning attack against Palestinians in Gaza
The U.S. State Department on Saturday said it had credible reports of an imminent planned attack by Hamas against residents of Gaza.
“This planned attack against Palestinian civilians would constitute a direct and grave violation of the ceasefire agreement and undermine the significant progress achieved through mediation efforts,” it said in a statement.
There was no immediate Hamas comment on the State Department statement. However, the Interior Ministry, which is part of the Hamas-run government, has said its forces were working to restore law and order across areas Israel’s military withdrew from following the ceasefire.
Hamas-led fighters clashed with at least two armed groups in eastern Gaza City that Hamas alleges are involved in looting aid and collaborating with Israel. They executed a handful of suspects in public, in widely condemned street killings. __
Magdy reported from Cairo.
